


A Certain Romance

by kristhaswaggerdaddy



Series: 2016 Kaisoo Birthday Fics [3]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Athletes, Crack, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Crack, Fluff and Smut, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-08-07 21:37:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 35,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7730644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kristhaswaggerdaddy/pseuds/kristhaswaggerdaddy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kyungsoo had no interest in sports whatsoever, but the White Tigers' team captain certainly caught his eye.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. hey boy, I really wanna be with you 'cause you're just my type

**Author's Note:**

> Ah, this fic. It's my baby. My first ever uni!au fic, and everyone kept moaning for a smut sequel so I relented and wrote one a few months later. I do not regret writing smut for this fic, although it took a gajillion years because it had to be carefully done. I wanted this to be perfect, and though it isn't very close, I'm really happy with what I did here in this fic lol. Also, Baekhyun is me in this fic.

“Oh, shit! I’m _so_ sorry, let me get that for you—” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes when he heard Baekhyun apologizing profusely to someone behind him.

Why did he ever think they’d go through a day without some kind of unfortunate incident? Kyungsoo turned to look over his shoulder to see what sort of mess Baekhyun had gotten himself into.

Baekhyun was picking up an empty paper cup as he stood in a puddle of fizzy soda, a girl scowling at him while he apologized to her over and over again. Presumably, Baekhyun must’ve spilled her soda by accident when he brushed past her but it didn’t help his case very much; the girl looked upset at having her entire drink emptied to the ground by some bumbling fool.

“I’ll, um, get you another one,” Baekhyun stumbled over his words, putting the empty cup on the empty seat beside the girl delicately. She scoffed at him as she stood up, flipping her brown hair over her shoulder.

“Forget it,” she replied in disgust, walking away. Baekhyun stuttered after her, swinging his bag over his shoulder.

“W-wait, I didn’t mean it!” he called. Kyungsoo just tugged at his hand, trying not to sigh in exasperation. “She said forget it so forget it, Baek. Quick, before there aren’t any good seats left.” Baekhyun’s expression was forlorn as he let Kyungsoo lead him forth, murmuring excuse me’s and apologies while they inched past people in their seats.

They sat down upon reaching the two empty seats at the end of the entire row, and the first thing Baekhyun did was bury his face into his hands.

“Did you see her face, Kyungsoo? Did you? She was so pissed at me, Kyungsoo, and I don’t like it when people are pissed at me,” he moaned. Kyungsoo patted his shoulder none too kindly, having heard this too many times till he was numb to it.

“There, there,” he said half heartedly. Kyungsoo never wanted to come to watch the football game in the first place, let alone comfort Baekhyun over a spilt drink. He tapped Baekhyun’s bag. “Why don’t you just get your camera ready for when they start the game?” he suggested. The game was bound to start soon.

Baekhyun removed his face from his hands, lower lip jutting out and eyebrows furrowed together. “She’s pissed at me,” he whined.

“You came here to enjoy the game, not to get upset,” Kyungsoo said sharply. It was the only way he knew would snap Baekhyun out of it long enough to remember what he was doing in the first place and it worked like a charm. Baekhyun jolted and immediately unzipped his bag, taking out his camera. Kyungsoo shook his head slightly at him, leaning back into his seat.

Kyungsoo had been friends with Baekhyun since middle school and never really left him alone after that. It wasn’t as if he didn’t want to; Baekhyun was a _mess_ back then, with braces and glasses perched upside down on his nose.

Nobody in their right mind wanted to be seen with him then, but Kyungsoo befriended him simply because he looked like someone just needed to help him out. Things had changed over the years, of course, and Kyungsoo had learned to depend on Baekhyun as a friend. He was loyal, funny when he was in the mood for jokes and the kindest person out there.

Sadly, it was why he took it very seriously if he thought people didn’t like him, especially now that they’d recently transferred to a new school for their senior year.

It was important in high school to be liked, or at least considered to be an alright person. Baekhyun couldn’t help his bad luck though, because he was constantly tripping over things, bumping into objects that other people would’ve easily avoided … Kyungsoo was fairly sure no one disliked them yet since they’d only been here for three days but people might’ve noticed Baekhyun was pretty clumsy at this point.

Nevertheless, they weren’t here to see how many people they could offend with Baekhyun’s two left feet. They were actually here in school on a lovely Saturday late afternoon—that could be spent watching Netflix all day, Kyungsoo noted sourly— to watch their school’s football team, Black Bears, play against Springfield’s White Tigers, a football team from a few towns over (Kyungsoo honestly thought their team would win simply because they had a better name).

But the game wasn’t the whole point. Kyungsoo didn’t give a rat’s ass about football. He was never into sports, but Baekhyun was. He wanted to watch their team play, or more specifically, a team member play on the field because “Oh my God, Kyungsoo, he’s so hot I can’t even breathe.”

Said football player was a six foot tall giant with ears sticking out from his head like Yoda. His name was Park Chanyeol, and he was the loudest guy in school, not to mention the football’s team’s quarterback and team captain.

With such qualities, it wasn’t hard for them to notice him at some point in school, and Baekhyun fell for him as hard as the time when he was reading a book while walking by the street and disappeared into a ditch.

Sure, Chanyeol was cute if you liked the sort of guy who looked like he could launch you into space with his throwing arm alone. Sure, Chanyeol was cute if you liked a booming voice and eyes far too large for his face. For reasons as such, everything about Chanyeol screamed ‘hot dude alert’ to Baekhyun. Kyungsoo, not-so-sadly, didn’t share the same sentiment and found him as attractive as one would find a wooden chair attractive.

And that was why Kyungsoo was here beside Baekhyun on the bleachers, squinting at the sun glaring right into his eyeballs while Baekhyun set up his camera.

He claimed that he ‘wanted pictures so I can admire Chanyeol from afar’ but Kyungsoo knew that was just an excuse to hopefully attract Chanyeol’s attention (Baekhyun was as clumsy as he was outrageously flirty with guys he liked).

Kyungsoo really didn’t mind coming along as a favor for Baekhyun, but still. There wasn’t much eye candy for _him._ The bleachers were pretty packed, yes, but they were packed with _girls_. Chicks with blonde hair, black hair, brown hair, fake tans, plastic noses and chins, short shorts… You name it, there was a girl here to fit the description.

He didn’t even get it; weren’t most guys into football and shit? There were less than ten guys among the crowd, and none of them were very appealing to look at.

Then there were the football players from the other town, but Kyungsoo wasn’t into jocks. It was already turning out to be a very crap evening and the game had yet to start. “You’re buying me dinner,” Kyungsoo grumbled, folding his arms.

Baekhyun looked up at him from his camera. “Why? What did I do?” he asked, eyes wide.

“Nothing. You just failed to mention that the game was gonna be full of girls,” Kyungsoo sighed, picking at a spot on his jeans. He’d even dressed up a little bit too, wore his best checkered shirt over a white tee. It was partly his fault for thinking that there’d be some hot guys to look at in the first place but one could always hope.

“I think they’re mostly here for the White Tigers’ captain. I overheard some girls saying he’s pretty hot,” Baekhyun informed him.

“Hot like Chanyeol or hot like Ryan Gosling?” Kyungsoo asked.

“Neither,” Baekhyun replied, testing out the long lens on his camera. “I’ve seen a picture of him. He’s not on that level but y’know,” Baekhyun shrugged. No hope there then. Kyungsoo got his phone out, fingers poised and ready to scroll through his Facebook timeline till the end of the game.

Five minutes later, still with no eye candy in sight, the football coach appeared in the centre of the field and spoke into the microphone. “Thank you, everyone who came to watch the game today…” he began, addressing the crowd stiffly.

Kyungsoo hardly heard any of it, reading an article on how to save your phone if you ever got it wet while Baekhyun made some final adjustments to the exposure on his camera as the sun sank into the distance, casting everything in an orange light.

The coach droned on for a bit, long enough that Kyungsoo finished the article and managed to screenshot a few parts for future reference before he heard the coach say, “Let’s meet the teams, hm?”

Suddenly, it was as if someone had turned a switch. The crowd practically exploded and all the girls stood up screaming, blocking Kyungsoo’s view of everything.

“Ohmygod ohmygod, Kyungsoo, look at the team captain,” Baekhyun said, elbowing Kyungsoo in the rib excitedly. He stood up to snap some pictures over the heads of excited teenage girls while Kyungsoo sat still, puzzled.

Didn’t Baekhyun just say he was hot but not _that_ hot? And how was he supposed to check him out when all he could see were butt cheeks, thighs and hair extensions?

The crowd took centuries before they calmed down and took their seats. Amid the screams of “Jongin, marry me!”, “I LOVE YOU, JONGIN!” and a bizarre shriek of “Chanyeol, _eat me_!” Kyungsoo thought he heard the players roar and yell in reply, but he couldn’t be too sure. His ears were ringing when the girls in front of him finally sat down, sipping at their soda drinks after the mini screaming session. He saw nothing, while the girls had apparently seen everything.

Baekhyun plopped into his seat next to Kyungsoo, going through the pictures he’d taken quickly. “I got some great pictures of Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, you wouldn’t believe how good they look,” Baekhyun gushed.

Kyungsoo tried to get a look at the players then, but they all had their helmets on already, chest bumping and doing elaborate high fives one another. He recognized Chanyeol from his height and the red jersey he was wearing, but apart from him Kyungsoo couldn’t see anyone who could be Jongin, presumably the team captain. There wasn’t anyone particularly buff and tall from the opposing team; Kyungsoo really didn’t understand what the girls went all out screaming for.

 _Maybe he’s really pretty_ , Kyungsoo figured. Well, there was always that one hot guy on a football team.

 _He’s probably not all that good looking_ , Kyungsoo thought. Girls were very dramatic when it came to boys after all.

With the crowd pumped and the teams ready to murder each other, they got their positions on the field. Kyungsoo’s Facebook timeline was taking a little longer to load than usual, so he stared at the field blankly, waiting for something to distract him till his timeline would refresh once more.

“What’s happening now?” Kyungsoo whispered to Baekhyun.

“They’re flipping a coin now to see who’s the defense and offense,” Baekhyun whispered back. Their team captain said something Kyungsoo couldn’t quite hear to the referee.

“Ah,” Kyungsoo said, not understanding those terms at all. Baekhyun glanced at his expression and continued, “Offense is the team that gets the ball first, and the other team is called defense. You’ll understand later,” Baekhyun reassured him.

Kyungsoo didn’t _want_ to understand, but it seemed like the universe wanted him to because his phone took the opportunity right then to black out. He frowned at it, tapping the screen in disbelief. Baekhyun saw him frown and peered at his phone curiously. “Low battery?” he asked.

Kyungsoo shook his head. “It was at 80% up till a second ago,” he protested, hitting his phone against his palm.

Meanwhile, a deathly silence had fallen over the crowd as their team captain looked over his shoulder and nodded to the members of his team. He then said something once more rather confidently and the referee spoke into the microphone. “Home team will be on defense,” he said, a stern expression on his face.

“Huh?” Kyungsoo lifted both eyebrows in question at Baekhyun.

“The other team will be the one with the ball,” Baekhyun explained, “so that means when our team crashes into them, they’re supposed to hold onto the ball long enough so they can reach the other end of the field.”

Kyungsoo listened, almost desperate _not_ to understand what he was saying. But without his phone as entertainment, there was really nothing he could do till the end of the game. Baekhyun had told him the game would probably take up to two hours and it was unlikely that he’d let Kyungsoo walk off in the middle of the game.

He looked down at his phone, pressing the on/off button multiple times in an attempt to resuscitate it.

Baekhyun laughed and rattled his arm with his hands, “Oh, quit looking at your phone, Kyungsoo, watch the game with me! It’ll be fun, I promise,” he said.

“I don’t want to watch football,” Kyungsoo replied mournfully.

“Then at least sit with me and yell when everyone yells. I’ll get you dinner and ice-cream too, just don’t block me out,” Baekhyun whined, rattling his arm a little harder.

“Why? You already dragged me all the way here to see someone I don’t care for and now you want me to cheer when I don’t even know what’s going on?” Kyungsoo asked, voice rising in volume. He didn’t have a clue how football worked _at all_. Baekhyun didn’t seem to mind though. He just hugged Kyungsoo’s arm to his chest and smiled sweetly at him.

His smile got creepy as fuck soon enough. “Get off, Chanyeol’s staring at you,” Kyungsoo lied, trying to shake Baekhyun off. Baekhyun flung his arm away quickly and touched his hair self consciously, glancing at the field. As if Chanyeol would be staring at someone in the crowd with eleven guys about to run him down.

Giving up with a heavy sigh, Kyungsoo stuffed his phone into his pocket. The game was about to start soon, and he might as well let his phone sit for a while till he could try it again later. Baekhyun beamed happily at him.

“Trust me, after a while you’ll get the game and—”

The football suddenly flew up in the air, and the crowd went wild once more. Kyungsoo had never seen someone kick a ball so hard, nor seen a ball fly so far across the field like a comet. The members on the other side of the field immediately went into motion, both Black Bears and White Tigers alike, arms reached up to the sky to catch the ball.

The ball began to descend almost in slow motion and Kyungsoo couldn’t help a sense of horror for the ball as he watched it drop into the hands of someone from the home team. Imagine flying so high up, only to drop down seconds later like a stone…

Then everything started to move quickly, as if time had caught up with the motions.

The ball disappeared among a flurry of black and white jerseys; even from where Kyungsoo sat, he could hear the guys yelling at one another all at once while trying to get the ball.

He wasn’t sure if it was to confuse whoever was holding the ball, or if they were trying to form an impromptu plan as they tried to take each other out of the game. There was a lot of elbowing, grunts, and crashes before someone finally emerged from the barge of jerseys and helmets.

That someone was wearing a white jersey, to the dismay of the Black Bears. However, the crowd seemed to be fine with it and started to cheer, “Kim Jongin! Kim Jongin! Kim Jongin!” as he outran and side swiped every red jersey in his way.

Oh. So _he_ was Jongin.

He ran with the ball tucked under his arm across the field faster than Kyungsoo ever imagined a human could run. He made it look effortless to run like that, as if running was as easy as breathing. Kyungsoo wondered how long it took to build his endurance till it was at that level. He couldn’t even run half a mile without losing his breath.

When the player crossed some invisible boundary, the crowd’s cheers intensified into screams. Cheerleaders Kyungsoo didn’t notice before started bopping and jumping around by the side of the field, kicking up their legs and waving their pom-poms in perfect synchronization. Clearly, they had practiced because they’d somehow expected this would happen.

The tanned, white jersey player flung the ball to the ground, slowing down to a stop. The referee blew his whistle and everyone in the bleachers stood up, including Baekhyun and Kyungsoo.

It was instinctual to do so; everyone just seemed to know that this dude, with legs that could outrun Usain Bolt, had won and didn’t need a referee’s approval for it.

Kyungsoo found himself clapping a little less enthusiastically than the girls around him, but still clapping nonetheless.

It was obvious to Kyungsoo that Jongin was a great player now, and he had to admit he was more than just a little curious as to how he looked under the helmet. Did he have the looks of a classic Asian man, chiseled cheekbones and sharp eyes? Or was he plainer looking, but still someone worth the attention?

“Did you fucking see that, Kyungsoo?” Baekhyun asked in a loud voice.

“Yes, I did, I was there when it happened,” Kyungsoo replied at once. Baekhyun had snapped a series of pictures of it and briefly went through the entire reel while the girls surrounding them hugged each other. Now, Kyungsoo didn’t have much knowledge on football but he knew damn well that it was only the first leg of the game. Either every girl in the bleachers was being dramatic or Jongin was a bigger hotshot than Kyungsoo expected.

“So what happens now?” Kyungsoo asked.

“They’ll play the next round after the referee confirms it’s a goal. Did you see how Jongin just ran across the field like he was Jesus walking on water?”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Kyungsoo said a little snappily. And it was on the very tip of his tongue, a confession that he was well and truly curious to see who was beneath that helmet. He didn’t say anything though. Baekhyun would’ve been far too smug if he told him so. 

-

Kyungsoo wasn’t having much luck with Jongin’s face.

It had been two hours— _two fucking hours_ , he groused in his head— just as Baekhyun said, since Kyungsoo sat his ass down on the bleachers here, craning his neck to watch Jongin run from one end of the field to another. The sun had already set in the horizon, little stars dotted the sky, and the moon made its nightly appearance, a ghostly apparition in the sky. Not once in all that time did the fucker take off his helmet.

_Not once._

Jongin didn’t take off his helmet like the rest of his teammates when their score topped the home team by six points thanks to a touchdown. Jongin also didn’t take it off when someone from the home team bumped into him intentionally mid-run with a snarl, and he certainly didn’t take the fucking helmet off during half time.

 _Maybe it’s glued on his head_ , Kyungsoo figured.

Maybe it was all a sick joke. Maybe Jongin had no face like Slenderman and the entire school was in on the prank, and once Jongin took off his helmet Kyungsoo’s soul would be taken away, all just because he was being a good friend to Baekhyun.

He sighed heavily when someone from the home team scored a goal.

 _Please God, just end this game so he’ll take the damned helmet off his head_ , Kyungsoo prayed silently. At this point any team could win; he was hardly bothered by the reputation of his school’s football team. Not like he was a jock and needed to defend his territory or something.    

Jongin’s head (and helmet, of course) drooped forward when the referee yelled out their points. His team was falling behind the home team by about two points now. He looked frustrated from his body language, perhaps a little angry that his team wasn’t doing as well as he hoped.

Well, Kyungsoo knew a thing or two about frustration too. If one of the teams didn’t win within the next ten minutes, he was walking home whether Baekhyun liked it or not. Kyungsoo could wait, but his stomach couldn’t and Baekhyun certainly wasn’t edible.

He checked his watch. Six forty-five.

At five to seven, he’d leave. The guys on the field were starting to look tired too. This friendly match was starting to turn into a competition fuelled by male ego and the primal need to win.

Just when all hope seemed to have faded away and Kyungsoo’s stomach gave an embarrassing growl, the boys on the field started moving. Baekhyun squinted at them carefully, his brain probably going through all the strategies and moves they looked like they were going to use. Kyungsoo chewed on his nail, bored.

“I think someone’s gonna try for a field goal,” Baekhyun said softly.

“Yeah, I think so too,” Kyungsoo replied immediately. As if he knew how a goal was scored, much less a field goal. Baekhyun did a double take and squinted at him.

“ _Do_ you know what a field goal is?” he asked.

“God, of course I don’t know what’s a field goal! Jesus Christ, Baekhyun—”

Kyungsoo was about to unleash his wrath of hunger upon Baekhyun, but a girl from the front shushed him up. He settled back into his seat grumpily with a martyred sigh, folding his legs. Baekhyun was already over it, eyes glazed over as he watched the boys play on the field.

Kyungsoo didn’t know what he was seeing, but he certainly wished he could. It would beat sitting on the bleachers like some clichéd, lovesick boy waiting for the hot guy’s face to appear—

The crowd suddenly leaned forward, the tension in the air going up a notch or two.

Kyungsoo wasn’t going to fall for it; everyone kept doing that every few minutes or so. He pursed his lips, chewing the inside of his mouth while one by one, people started cheering incoherently. _People are so dramatic these days_ , Kyungsoo thought. _Cheering about this and that when it isn’t really anything and all._

Then the football suddenly rose into the air, flew towards the goal posts and plopped on the other side.

Literally everyone started screaming; even Baekhyun beside him almost flung his camera at somebody. Of course, they couldn’t scream while sitting down now could they, the inconsiderate imbeciles. Kyungsoo just sat there, staring at a spot on his checkered shirt blankly. He couldn’t see the field, he couldn’t hear anything other than screams and he didn’t feel up for a celebration.

Kyungsoo got up from his seat, suddenly feeling over and done with everything. He never liked big crowds, especially not crowds that keep yelling and standing up all the time. He’d been there two fucking hours; if it wasn’t his destiny to see Jongin’s face or whatever, he was over it.

He began to walk away, climbing a few steps up to reach the exit. Kyungsoo heard Baekhyun calling his name, but he didn’t turn around till he felt an arm tug at his hand.

“What?” Kyungsoo moaned. Baekhyun was bright eyed, blinking up at him questioningly.

“Why are you leaving? No one leaves right after a team wins the game,” he laughed.

Kyungsoo shrugged, looking at the field. The cheerleaders were hopping around Jongin’s team like there was no tomorrow, chests thrust outwards and hair tossed back confidently. Most of them were removing their helmets, but Kyungsoo just wasn’t in the mood to look out for Jongin anymore.

What was he hoping for anyway? Even if he saw Jongin without a helmet on, so what? It wasn’t as if Jongin would notice him. Kyungsoo was just another face on the bleachers.

“I think I’ll just head home first, Baekhyun. Good luck with Chanyeol if you’re gonna go down there to flirt with him,” Kyungsoo said to him.

Baekhyun tightened his grip on his arm.

“H-hey. If you wanna leave, I’ll go with you. Bros before hoes right?” he smiled. Kyungsoo curled his mouth into a semblance of a smile in reply; Baekhyun always knew what to say.

“The game’s over anyway, and no one’s really gonna miss us,” Baekhyun said, climbing up the steps towards the exit. Kyungsoo agreed, following after him.

There was only one exit so when Baekhyun swung the door open, Kyungsoo was sure someone would see them leaving. They weren’t around here long enough to be noticed though, and their presence wouldn’t be missed by anyone, really.

Maybe Chanyeol would notice that there wasn’t a particular boy screaming at him in excitement, but that was about it.

“Wanna go for ice-cream?” Baekhyun asked. Kyungsoo nodded. It’d be nice to have something nice and sweet to end the day before they went home.

-

“What flavor are you having?” Baekhyun asked, standing with a delicate finger on his chin. Kyungsoo’s stance mimicked Baekhyun’s, the pose of one who was bewildered by the fourteen ice-cream flavors laid out before him.

“I really don’t know,” Kyungsoo replied honestly. There was chocolate chip mint, vanilla, rum and raisins, yogurt, bubblegum… Ooh, the possibilities were endless. Lucky for the both of them, they were Moe’s Ice Cream Parlour’s only customers and they were free to take their time in choosing.

Baekhyun gave a curt nod. “Well, I don’t know about you but I think I’m gonna go for matcha green tea. That green tea be lookin’ real green if you know what I mean,” Baekhyun said, tapping at it on the glass.

The girl behind the counter smiled blandly and began to scoop some out for Baekhyun while Kyungsoo remained indecisive beside him. To force Baekhyun to go out of budget and get a double scoop, or to have mercy upon his wallet and get a single scoop? Very, very tricky.

“I think I’ll have… strawberry,” Kyungsoo declared after a long minute of deliberation between berry mix and classic strawberry. “A single scoop,” he added, since Baekhyun was kind enough to leave the game even though it was a clear opportunity to flirt all night with Chanyeol. Lord only knew where they’d be out around town to celebrate with Jongin’s team.

Kyungsoo said as much to Baekhyun while the girl scooped out his strawberry ice cream, and to his surprise Baekhyun replied, “Oh, the guys aren’t actually all that wild.”

Football players, _not_ wild? That was like saying lions were… housecats.

“I hear Jongin’s kind of strict with the guys and Chanyeol agrees with the way he thinks too. Says it keeps the guys straight and steady or something like that, so they’re probably just gonna hang out at school. Nothing big,” Baekhyun shrugged, paying for the ice cream. Kyungsoo took their two cups quickly in case Baekhyun got any funny ideas and made a beeline towards a booth.

The parlour was built to look like the kind of ice-cream shops from the eighties, with shiny floors and walls and red leather booths. It felt like they were characters in an Archie comic book as they sat down, licking tentatively at their tiny plastic spoons.

Strawberry ice-cream never tasted so good after a long football game. Kyungsoo had to take a moment to savor the creamy, sweet and sour goodness of good ol’ strawberry in his mouth before he could concentrate on what Baekhyun was saying.

“… come here, y’know. At least that’s what I see from their photos online,” Baekhyun said, stabbing at his ice cream before he licked at it with his tongue.

“Who comes here?” Kyungsoo asked.

“Chanyeol. And the guys. They come over to Moe’s sometimes to have ice-cream. Maybe they might walk in with Jongin and his team, who knows?” Baekhyun smiled wickedly.

“You realize I still haven’t seen his oh-so-hot face yet, right? Even if he walked in I wouldn’t know it was him,” Kyungsoo scoffed.

Baekhyun quirked an eyebrow at him. “Trust me, Kyungsoo, _you’d know_. I can’t put my finger on it, really, he’s… charismatic, in a way. I mean, he has to be because he’s the team leader and all but it’s more than that. Maybe it’s his eyes, he has really expressive eyes. Kind of like you,” Baekhyun teased.

Oh yes, the expressive eyes joke. Kyungsoo always shooed everyone off with his astigmatism; he truly couldn’t help squinting at people sometimes. There _were_ times when he squinted at people simply because he was judging them, but most times it was because he couldn’t see them. Baekhyun always said that his habit of squinting/glaring at people was the reason why he didn’t have a boyfriend, but Kyungsoo didn’t think so (Baekhyun wasn’t a dependable source of love advice anyhow).

He just wasn’t the sort of guy you’d notice right away, and he knew that. Kyungsoo didn’t mind. It meant he could sleep in class without the teacher realizing it and he could get away with most things, just with a mumbled sorry.   

“Ha-ha, you funny,” Kyungsoo sneered half-heartedly. Baekhyun was lucky Kyungsoo wasn’t in a roasting mood.

They chatted meaninglessly in soft voices, their ice cream slowly disappearing into smears at the bottom of their paper cups. A mother came in and left with her kid, trying to soothe his tears with an apple flavored ice cream. Apart from that, the place was deserted. Kyungsoo was having a hard time believing that Chanyeol ever came by this place.

 _Just seems so quiet,_ Kyungsoo thought. Not the kind of place jocks would stop by. They were just sitting down now, enjoying the cool air before they’d head home in a bit.

Baekhyun’s phone suddenly buzzed mid conversation and he tapped furiously at it. Kyungsoo just looked around while Baekhyun was preoccupied, admiring the décor.

He suddenly gasped loudly, covering his mouth with his hand. Kyungsoo blinked at him. “What’s wrong? You forget to get groceries for your mom?” he asked.

“ _NO_. Oh my God, Kyungsoo!” Baekhyun said rather loudly. Even the girl behind the ice cream counter gave them the look.

“What’s up?” Kyungsoo replied.

“Chanyeol is on the way here! Look, he just updated his Instagram,” Baekhyun shoved his phone at Kyungsoo’s nose. ‘ _Headin’ to Moe’s for that lickity-lick ice-cream with the boyz,_ ’ Kyungsoo read the caption below a blurred picture of black and white jerseys. It took all of his human strength not to scoff at the lame caption and bad picture.

“So?” Kyungsoo said, handing the phone back to Baekhyun, “you want me to leave so you can have your time with him?”

Baekhyun bit his lip nervously. “I dunno, do you think you should leave? But it’d be awkward and weird to sit here alone, what if they change their mind and I’m sitting here all night—”

“I’ll sit here a little longer with you then sneak away once they arrive. How’s about that?” Kyungsoo asked. Baekhyun usually needed a little warming up before he could get his freak on. Kyungsoo was more than happy to be his best friend’s wingman, so long as he wasn’t around towards the end. Teenagers were very frisky after all.

“Y-you’d do that for me? For real? Oh, it’d be _so_ nice to have a chat with Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said, hands fluttering around like a butterfly.

Kyungsoo nodded easily. He didn’t have anything better to do at home, so why not? He watched Baekhyun touch his hair then held up his phone to mess up his hair a little. Baekhyun tried out a few smiles, asking Kyungsoo if he looked better when he smiled properly or if he looked better with just one corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

“Er, does it matter? I don’t think Chanyeol would notice if you smiled widely or smiled slightly at him…” Kyungsoo trailed off.

“No but, if I’m smiling widely like this when he’s talking about something serious then he’ll think I’m joking around when I’m _not_ , so maybe I should smile like this instead… But I don’t know, I don’t look all that good when I’m smiling slightly.”

Baekhyun went on and on about how to smile and why he should smile a certain way in different situations. Kyungsoo nodded patiently at all of it, not because he agreed to them but because Baekhyun needed to get all the chatter out of his system; he was always nervous before anything big happened.

Kyungsoo was used to it and therefore, was hardly surprised when the bell at the door jangled and Baekhyun could smile without his left eye twitching.

 “Oh, _what_ a coincidence! Hey, guys,” Baekhyun called.

What sounded like a hundred people entered the tiny shop and filled it up in no time; Kyungsoo tried not to look at anyone till it became clear that he had to look up at some point.

He glanced around at the people around the booth. Chanyeol was nowhere in sight just yet, but his friends were here. Some of them recognized Baekhyun and came to say hi, ignoring Kyungsoo completely. Others were making their orders at the counter while the rest squeezed into the red booths, a few girls among the crowd. Kyungsoo couldn’t have felt more out of place at that moment.

For the second time in an hour, Kyungsoo wanted to run away from the situation. It was just truly uncomfortable for him to be among the ‘in-crowd’, sitting in a booth mere inches away from all the cool kids in school with their pumped up kicks. He didn’t belong there.

A hand abruptly appeared out of the corner of Kyungsoo’s eye. It tapped the edge of the table and a voice somewhere over him said, “Hey, Baekhyun. You’re Chanyeol’s friend, right?”

Kyungsoo didn’t know why, but he froze.

Maybe the stranger talking above him was a little too close for comfort. It also could have been because the scent coming off of him was somewhat _humble;_ Kyungsoo always expected jocks to smell like cologne with an underlying sour note of sweat. Whoever the dude was smelled like home, bright sunlight and liquid detergent, the sort that no one would ever hate.

And, it could’ve been the look on Baekhyun’s face when he met the gaze of the sweet smelling stranger. He was taken aback, immensely so, and Baekhyun was only ever surprised when someone he had a crush on was talking to him.

Kyungsoo knew right away it wasn’t Chanyeol; he wasn’t so tan, and he didn’t have such a mellow note to his voice. He felt the guy peer over the booth and say, “And who’s your friend here? I saw you guys leaving the game early.”

Baekhyun cleared his throat, trying not to seem like a fool. He stuttered a reply that Kyungsoo didn’t understand and was sure the guy didn’t get it too (probably because jocks didn’t speak loser). Kyungsoo didn’t look up, couldn’t look up, wasn’t sure if he wanted to anyway because _holy shit,_ the only tanned guy on the football team was Jongin and if this arm was attached to Kim Jongin—

He looked up, just for a very brief moment. Dark brown eyes looked right back at him steadily. A pair of soft looking lips fell open slightly to say something to him. Kyungsoo didn’t catch it in time (he’d be terrible at football).

 _Of course_ it was Jongin. No one else could have eyes like those. They just seemed to see into Kyungsoo, but only as deep as Kyungsoo allowed him, and was as open as they were somewhat closed off. Kyungsoo could hardly think of anything else.

Was he good looking? Hell yes, indeed. Was a helmet attached to his head? What a bloody pleasant surprise, no. Instead of a helmet, he had lovely, lovely pink hair. Kyungsoo had never seen a guy who was so secure in his masculinity that he thought he could pull off pink hair. _It does look nice_ , a little voice in Kyungsoo’s head said. He was much inclined to agree. How did he manage to keep it and his spot on the football team though? It had to be against the rules.

Then he noticed something. Shit, was he saying something to Kyungsoo that he was supposed to answer? _Fucking hell, yes he fucking was_ —

“W-what?” he mumbled. Kyungsoo usually preferred to appear intellectual and quiet before strangers, but his mouth obviously decided he should appear as a blushing, bumbling fool before Jongin. 

“I said, I’ve never seen anyone leave a game early before. Are you new in town?” Jongin repeated himself.

He didn’t sound irritated. In fact, Kyungsoo thought he sounded amused. But that couldn’t be right; there was nothing amusing about looking down at a nobody like Kyungsoo. Unless that was his kind of thing.

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo replied numbly.

Jongin smirked briefly. A real, proper smirk that came naturally (unlike Baekhyun’s practiced slight smirk/flirty smile). “I thought so,” he replied.

God, he was hitting all the right spots and he’d barely even said more than a handful of words. And that _hair_. Jongin ran a hand through it as if he knew Kyungsoo was thinking about doing that too, as if he knew Kyungsoo was just dying to know what it’d be like to be able to touch those fine, pink strands—

“Is this seat taken?” he asked, gesturing at the empty spot in the booth beside Baekhyun.

“No,” Baekhyun replied immediately, scooting towards Kyungsoo’s end of the booth to make space. Jongin slid into the booth easily, catching the eye of someone he knew in the crowd. He smiled, and waved hello.

Inside, Kyungsoo was sputtering in protest because who the hell did Jongin think he was, just joining them like it was nothing? Didn’t he have his cooler, much fitter friends to hang out with? What the hell was Jongin thinking, sitting with possibly the most unpopular kids in school at the moment? Did he have absolutely no regard for the status quo?

Also, what the fuck was Baekhyun doing? Wasn’t he going to invite Chanyeol to sit with him? Kyungsoo couldn’t help but sent him a questioning glare when Jongin was engaged in conversation with someone else.

Baekhyun shrugged his shoulders slightly as if to say, “What was I supposed to do?”

Kyungsoo pursed his lips. Being one of the unpopular kids sucked sometimes, like now. It would be a damned sin to deny Jongin his seat.

It would also be extremely awkward for him to slip away now. What could he say to Jongin who was bound to ask why he was leaving? ‘Sorry, I don’t hang out with jocks’?

Just then, Chanyeol came in, booming caveman voice and all.

Baekhyun sat up at once, spine straight as a flag pole as he simpered and giggled at Chanyeol. _Such a prat and a fool_ , Kyungsoo thought. And also a crappy friend; now Kyungsoo had no one to talk to.

So he sat there while Baekhyun and Jongin were chatting casually with everyone else around the booth. If there was an award for Most Awkward Person of the Year, Kyungsoo would come out on top. He dug out his phone. Maybe it would work now, in his hour of need.

He was glaring at it, trying to will it to life when Jongin’s voice suddenly directed towards his direction. “Hey um… I don’t think I caught your name. I’m Jongin. You are?”

Kyungsoo glanced up. “U-um, what?” he widened his eyes. Jongin’s hand was outstretched over the table, his gaze fixed upon Kyungsoo. Good manners overtook his power of speech, and he shook Jongin’s hand like some kind of corporate businessman before he realized he hadn’t answered his question.

“I-I’m—I’m Do Kyungsoo. Just Kyungsoo, actually. No one calls me um… Do Kyungsoo,” he mumbled, releasing Jongin’s hand before he shook it forever and ever.

“Kyungsoo,” Jongin said with a small smile.

 _Good Lord, don’t do this to me_ , Kyungsoo prayed in the back of his head. Jongin leaned forward on the table. Kyungsoo noticed he was dressed effortlessly in a simple long sleeved tee, probably had paired it with jeans and sneakers under the table. He made the long sleeved tee look like it was designer, though intellectually Kyungsoo knew that it was probably just from Uniqlo or something.

“Kyungsoo, huh… tell me, Kyungsoo, do you like football?” Jongin asked.

He blinked at the question. Was he supposed to be honest or lie and say he loved football to death? Kyungsoo glanced at Baekhyun on his left for a little help but he was too busy with Chanyeol to care that Kyungsoo in the middle of an interrogation with Jongin.

“U-um,” he opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out.

“Be honest,” Jongin coaxed him, tilting his head to the right. He looked like a predatory animal and a curious boy all at once. Kyungsoo didn’t how he did it.

“Well, I don’t… No,” Kyungsoo shook his head slowly. Better to say no and insult him than to be called out on a lie later. What if Jongin decided to ask him if he was on offense or defense today? No, no, no, not football questions that Kyungsoo couldn’t answer.

He’d rather be unpopular forever than to face that. Kyungsoo risked a glimpse at Jongin’s expression to see what his reaction was. Surprisingly, Jongin didn’t look insulted.

“I imagine it was probably boring or confusing for you to watch the game then. Was that why you left so quickly?” Jongin asked.

“N-no, no! No, it wasn’t boring at all, I just,” Kyungsoo scrambled for an excuse that was valid and yet not completely lame, “I-I don’t usually watch any of the games so— Um, you played really well just now. I wasn’t bored at all,” Kyungsoo said, and then smiled awkwardly to make it seem legit.

Even a monkey wouldn’t have fallen for that lie, Kyungsoo knew. He waited for Jongin to make some snarky comment or ask him another tricky question, but instead Jongin’s eyes scrunched up into a smile.

“Really? You think so?”

Well, this was an easy question. “Y-yeah. I mean, I don’t know anything about football but you were good. To me, anyway, I don’t— I don’t know…” Kyungsoo trailed off into silence.

Jongin listened till the end of his babble and gave a very shy and grateful smile. It made him look like he was just six, except for the pink hair. God, Kyungsoo wanted to touch it.

“Hey guys, make some space for me,” Chanyeol ambled over to the booth in his letterman jacket. Thank God for Chanyeol, because Jongin had to get up so he could sit with Baekhyun. Kyungsoo immediately saw an opportunity to leave when Jongin remained standing and said, “I’m gonna join the line and get some ice cream. You want any?”

He said that while looking at Kyungsoo, to which he shook his head. “I already had some.”

Chanyeol asked for a double scoop of matcha green tea (clearly meant for Baekhyun already), and Jongin went off, squeezing past a few people.

The minute he was out of sight, Kyungsoo shook Baekhyun’s arm hard to distract him from Chanyeol and whispered, “I’m leaving now. Do you think you can get Chanyeol to walk you home?”

Baekhyun grabbed at him like he thought Kyungsoo was going to run out of the store. “You _can’t_ leave, everyone’s here—”

“I don’t feel comfortable being here with so many people around, Baekhyun, you know me,” Kyungsoo frowned. They were friends long enough for Baekhyun to know that Kyungsoo tended to avoid large crowds.

Baekhyun made a noise of protest in his throat then looked between Kyungsoo and Chanyeol. Kyungsoo hated making him choose because he knew it was ingrained in Baekhyun’s bones to be loyal till the end but just this time, Kyungsoo didn’t mind if he chose Chanyeol over him.

“Stay,” he squeezed Baekhyun’s hand. “I know what it means to you. Text me when you get home,” Kyungsoo tried to smile at him.

Baekhyun wasn’t convinced, frowning as Kyungsoo started to wiggle out of the booth. “Are you sure you wanna go? You’ll have to walk home alone…”

“You’re leaving? Bye then, take care,” Chanyeol said to Kyungsoo. It was an empty gesture but Kyungsoo just shrugged in reply and nodded at Baekhyun.

“I’ll be fine. See you tomorrow, okay?” he said.

Then Kyungsoo inched towards the door before Baekhyun could say anymore. Each second he wasted was a second closer to Jongin noticing his absence, and Kyungsoo wanted to be long gone before he realized Kyungsoo wasn’t there.

It was just too awkward for Kyungsoo to sit down in there, pretending he was friends with everyone. He barely managed to push past a few members of the home team to get to the door, avoiding eye contact with all of them. Kyungsoo was painfully tiny compared to their bulging, hulking muscles and ripped bodies.

Pushing the glass door open, Kyungsoo inhaled fresh air into his lungs.

A couple walked past him as he shoved his hands into his pockets, looking down the street. Only a few cars were still on the road, streetlights lining the sidewalks.

Kyungsoo decided to cross the road just to get away from Moe’s first. His place was only twenty minutes away from where he was; if he walked fast enough, he would probably have time for a little Netflix.

He waited for a car to drive past before he started to cross the road, looking from left to right. Kyungsoo was halfway across before he heard a familiar jangle and someone called out his name.

“Kyungsoo!”

He nearly tripped over his own feet. Kyungsoo turned around, half expecting it to be Baekhyun.

Instead, it was Jongin hurrying over, gesturing at him to get over to the other side of the road. On autopilot, Kyungsoo quickened his steps and made it safely to the other side of the road, a little puzzled that Jongin was here with him rather than inside Moe’s with everyone else.

“You’re leaving already?” Jongin said, looking down at him. He looked absolutely fantastic in jeans, just as Kyungsoo predicted. His long legs were that much longer up close than on the field and if Kyungsoo were to stand closer to him he was sure he’d probably only measure up to his knee.

“Yeah. Um, did you need something?” Kyungsoo replied.  

“Huh? What? No, I don’t,” Jongin replied, just as puzzled. Kyungsoo frowned. Then why was Jongin here?

“I… was wondering if I could walk you home. Your friend, Baekhyun, looked like he was busy with Chanyeol, and it’s not safe to walk alone at night,” Jongin said, ruffling his pink hair briefly. Perhaps it was an unconscious habit of his, to touch his beautiful hair.  

“I uh, don’t need anyone to walk me home, thanks,” Kyungsoo almost laughed. He’d been walking to places since he was ten, and that worked out just fine.

Jongin looked embarrassed at his response. “No, I don’t mean you need someone to walk you home. I’m sure you’ll do just fine against any dangers of the night, I just… I just wanted to make sure you get home safe.”

Kyungsoo wasn’t sure if Jongin was his dad or fellow teenager at that point, but he appreciated the thought.

“Don’t you want to be with your friends? They’ll miss you once they realize you’re gone,” Kyungsoo pointed at Moe’s. It looked like it was going to explode with people soon, with all the boys standing flush against the window.

“They’d understand,” Jongin said dismissively.

So much for getting away from him. Kyungsoo wasn’t exactly unhappy that Jongin was offering to walk him home, but then again, they weren’t friends or even acquaintances. They’d barely met less than ten minutes ago. Plus he didn’t have much experience with people walking him home.

“You sure you want to? My place is kinda far away,” Kyungsoo tried again.

Jongin smiled. “I don’t mind. Unless you’re trying to get rid of me?”

Kyungsoo tried very hard not to blush at that. “No, I’m not trying to get rid of you, it’s just that—” He shut himself up. Kyungsoo didn’t trust his mouth anymore.

He pointed down the street awkwardly and promptly began walking, head bowed. Jongin followed from behind.

 _Why am I acting like such a fool?_ Kyungsoo asked himself as he walked. It was just A WALK. Nothing else. Completely innocent.

It was just Jongin being nice, that’s all. Kyungsoo was willing to bet that he walked his girlfriends home after every date with the same excuse: _‘I just want to make sure you get home safe.’_

Well, who did he think Kyungsoo was, some chit swooning over him? Kyungsoo was about to say something scathing over his shoulder to Jongin but stopped short when he noticed he was walking at least two feet away from him, pacing his footsteps so he wouldn’t come up beside Kyungsoo.

 _Huh, so he’s keeping his distance_ , Kyungsoo thought, facing forward once more.

Good. Wasn’t like they were on a fucking date or something. Would be totally inappropriate to walk side-by-side. His chest stung a little with some kind of emotion that Kyungsoo didn’t want to name, but he pushed it all down. There was nothing to feel about this.

-

If there was a Guinness World Record for most awkward walk home ever, this would be it. During the entire twenty minutes it took to walk from Moe’s to Kyungsoo’s home in the suburbs, they never spoke a word to one another.

Kyungsoo hated to admit it, but he thought it was probably his fault. He hated being the Most Awkward Person of the Year and that he didn’t know what he should say the entire time. He thought about asking Jongin to walk beside him so it wouldn’t be as uneasy as it was, but then it’d seem like he was into Jongin (he was _not_ ) and besides, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be seen in that light.

 _I should’ve tried harder to make him leave me alone_ , Kyungsoo cursed himself. It would definitely save him from the experience of having to stop at the porch and turn around to face Jongin, taking a deep breath to thank him.

“This is my stop,” Kyungsoo started to say, pointing a thumb over his shoulder at his parents’ place. It wasn’t much, just a three room terrace house with a very small lawn. Kyungsoo knew Jongin’s town was much bigger and the neighborhoods there had nicer looking homes; frankly, he was embarrassed Jongin had to see his home.

“Thank you for uh, walking me home. It was… really nice of you to do this,” Kyungsoo bit his lip, staring at Jongin’s shoes. They looked scuffed and worn out.

“I don’t mind,” Jongin said. It sounded like he was smiling. “Nice place. Looks really neat,” he remarked. Kyungsoo looked at his lawn; he’d mowed it just two days ago and his mother had been pruning the roses, so the bushes looked like plain old bushes. Neat indeed.

“Ah yeah, I guess so. T-thanks,” Kyungsoo shrugged. He took a step back from Jongin, looking at his forehead to seem like he was making eye contact.

“I-I’ll head in now. Thank you again, for walking me back. Stay safe, hm?” he said, then berated himself for that particular comment. ‘Stay _safe’_? What, so he was Jongin’s grandfather now?

Jongin hesitated, reaching out a hand.

Kyungsoo stopped too, suddenly anxious. Did he want something from him again? Oh Lord, maybe he wanted a drink or coffee, where were his fucking manners—

“Look, I’m really sorry about… about back there. I didn’t mean to be so direct with you. It was rude and I feel like I should apologize,” Jongin said, his words coming out in a rush as if he needed to get it off his chest. Kyungsoo didn’t have a clue what he was talking about.

“Beg pardon?” he said politely. For once, he sounded like a normal person.

Jongin looked shifty and nervous all of a sudden. “About football. It’s just,” he sighed loudly in frustration, raking both hands through his hair till they all stood up on end.

Under the orange streetlight, Kyungsoo noticed Jongin had shaven the underside of his pink hair. It was maybe black, he couldn’t really tell, but he did think Jongin was one of the prettiest boys he’d ever seen.

So human and yet alien before Kyungsoo… he was like someone from another galaxy light years away (with a really great hair stylist).

“It’s alright,” Kyungsoo said, just to put Jongin out of his misery. He didn’t think Jongin was forward at all; by all accounts, he was much more socially adept than Kyungsoo could ever hope to be. There was nothing for him to be upset about over Kyungsoo; he was just a nobody, after all. And they’d never see each other again after this, probably.

“…There’s also something I wanted to ask you about,” Jongin said, linking his hands together behind his neck.

“Oh. What is it?” Kyungsoo asked. Suddenly, it clicked. Kyungsoo just knew what this was about. Jongin was going to ask Kyungsoo if Baekhyun was single and he’d walked him home to show him he was a good guy and needed to get away from Moe’s for privacy.

 _Well, sorry to let you down, bro, but he’s into Chanyeol,_ Kyungsoo said in his head. 

Jongin looked into the distance, eyebrows furrowed together as if he was thinking very hard about his next few words. “Will you um— I don’t know, because I’ve never seen you around before and I won’t be here till another month but I wanted to ask anyway… W-will you be going to the next game?”

“He’s into Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo answered immediately.

Jongin frowned. “Huh?”

“Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo gestured with his hands, “Baekhyun’s into Chanyeol. But he’ll probably be at the next game too, if Chanyeol will be there. That’s what you wanted to ask, didn’t you?” Kyungsoo looked at Jongin.

He blinked a few times, expression confused. “Who said anything about Baekhyun?” Jongin asked.

Aha, the old I-don’t-know-what-you’re-talking-about trick. Kyungsoo waved a dismissive hand at him. “I know you’re talking about Baekhyun, Jongin, it’s alright. He’ll be at the next game for sure. I can make sure he’s there if you want,” Kyungsoo offered.

Baekhyun would _die_ if he found out a jock was interested in him. That and he’d drag Kyungsoo to every game from now on. Brilliant, absolutely fucking brilliant, Kyungsoo thought. He had just accidentally won himself a nomination in Best Friend of the Year category.

Jongin started to shake his head slowly, laughing at the same time. “I’m not asking if Baekhyun will be at the next game, Kyungsoo. I wanna know if _you_ will be at the next game.”

Kyungsoo stopped. No… No _way_ would Jongin want to know if Kyungsoo was at the next game. Why the fuck would he _want_ to know?

“I um. I don’t know, if we’re being honest here, Jongin. I don’t know how football works,” Kyungsoo answered, rubbing the back of his neck. Wasn’t this about Baekhyun? Maybe he was trying to feel out to see if Baekhyun would be there for sure.

“Ah. You’re really not interested in football, are you?” Jongin asked, smirking once again.

Kyungsoo doubted he knew he was even doing it, but fuck, his stomach was doing weird, backward flops inside him when he accidentally met Jongin’s gaze.

“I guess I’m not,” Kyungsoo replied softly. Everything was starting to feel like an out-of-body experience. He felt compelled to add, “I’m sorry if that’s somehow insulting to you,” though he didn’t think Jongin was ever insulted by anything.

Jongin shook his head. “It isn’t insulting at all. I’ve just— I’ve never met anyone in this area who wasn’t interested in football. Like you,” Jongin did the thing with his shoulder, lifting it and dropping it nonchalantly. It was a cool half shrug, something only kids like him could ever do.

“Oh,” Kyungsoo said eloquently.

Then he laughed nervously, looking around the neighborhood to see if there was anything that could get him out of this situation. Anything would be useful, a spade to hit himself over the head with, a stray rabid dog, his mom…

“I’m keeping you for too long. I think you should go in now, before your parents worry,” Jongin spoke up.

“I. Yes. I should totally go in now so you can get back to Moe’s. Yeah. You um, you’re free to go now. No one’s gonna kidnap me while I walk in,” Kyungsoo said, laughing a little hysterically.

 _Shut up, shut up, Kyungsoo, shut up,_ he told himself.

 Jongin actually laughed along, scrunching his nose up like a rabbit. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you, Kyungsoo?” he said, toeing the ground with his sneakers.

Kyungsoo didn’t know what to say at that so he laughed again, tripping over the step leading to his front door. He felt for the door knob without looking away from Jongin, grabbing it and twisting hard.

“I’m heading in. Stay— No, I mean, be careful, yeah?” Kyungsoo corrected himself. Wasn’t gonna fall into that grandparent trap again.

Jongin waved at him as he inched backwards into the house. “See you around,” he called. Kyungsoo bit his tongue, waving back instead of making another dumb comment. It felt like something wasn’t right, leaving Jongin to walk back to Moe’s alone. Then again, Kyungsoo wasn’t sure he was ready to face another conversation with him.

When he shut the door, he leaned against it heavily, sighing in relief. Thank God he’d never see him again.

 


	2. I surrender to every word you whisper, and every door you enter (I will let you in)

“You wanna know something cool, Baekhyun?” Chanyeol asked, stroking Baekhyun’s cheek fondly as he spoke.

“What?” Baekhyun said breathily. Kyungsoo almost puked his internal organs over them. He had to look away if he wanted to keep his lunch down.

He’d never seen any couple acting so ridiculously clingy with one another, let alone do it in the middle of break time in the cafeteria. Chanyeol was lucky that he was a jock; if anyone else did this, they’d probably be hearing all sorts of dirty jokes.

“One of the guys had to drop out of the team ‘cause he was failing ethics or something and the team’s having tryouts tomorrow,” Chanyeol said, looking into Baekhyun’s eyes. Baekhyun looked right back at him dreamily, practically melting into a chocolate puddle before Kyungsoo.

“And how is that interesting?” Kyungsoo interjected, stirring the yogurt in its plastic cup lazily.

“Wait for it, Soo,” Baekhyun sighed, dragging his finger gently down Chanyeol’s nose. “Oh, so you haven’t dropped the punch line yet,” Kyungsoo said sarcastically, but it was no use; the two of them were too far gone into their world to realize Kyungsoo was getting a little cranky with them.

“I haven’t,” Chanyeol shook his head, running a hand through Baekhyun’s hair. Kyungsoo flung his spoon down on the table. He’d had enough of this sappy shit.

They didn’t even seem to notice that Kyungsoo was completely and utterly done with them till he got up with his tray to move to another table, maybe over there in the corner with Jongdae where he wasn’t trying to stare holes in Yixing’s face while they ate—

“H-hey, Kyungsoo, where are you going?” Chanyeol asked, breaking his gaze away from Baekhyun reluctantly.

“A place where I’m wanted,” he glared at Chanyeol. He shrunk under Kyungsoo’s deadly glare while Baekhyun rolled his eyes, motioning for him to come back.

“We’re sorry, all right? C’mon Kyungsoo, don’t be like this,” he said pleadingly.

“Oh, so it’s ‘we’ now? Have you both lumped into one entity already and share the same brain?” Kyungsoo said, sitting back down in irritation.

“I wish,” Baekhyun sighed, playing with one of Chanyeol’s ears. Chanyeol grinned proudly at him like a Cheshire cat.

They’d started officially started dating a week ago with Chanyeol proudly declaring his undying love for Baekhyun over the speakers all around the school (God only knew what sort of lengths he went to do that).

Baekhyun heard the announcement (everyone did) while they were in Biology slicing up a frog and he screamed so loudly Kyungsoo swore Chanyeol must’ve been able to hear it from the other side of the school.

Then it all went downhill from there because Baekhyun was too shaken with excitement and happiness so Kyungsoo had to cut the frog up instead. Their Biology teacher wasn’t too pleased with Baekhyun either for interrupting the class so she threw him out of the class. Of course, she only reunited the two star crossed lovers and Kyungsoo was not surprised to find them missing for the rest of the day.

Since then, Chanyeol seamlessly integrated himself into Baekhyun and Kyungsoo’s friendship. It was alright since Baekhyun really did seem to like him. They only saw each other during breaks, PE and Calculus but Jesus, it had only been a week and they were already getting on Kyungsoo’s nerves.

They couldn’t keep their hands off each other for one, and neither could they find it in themselves to include Kyungsoo into their conversations. The inside jokes he could overlook, but when the entire subject of the conversation eluded his understanding and no one bothered to explain or attempt to allow him to join in the conversation, it really annoyed him to no end.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol sighed happily at each other while Kyungsoo looked on like a confused goldfish. “Why should I stay when both of you don’t even want to talk to me anyway?” he demanded.

“Well, I actually thought that maybe the extra spot on the football team could help you out,” Chanyeol said without looking at Kyungsoo.

“Pardon?” Kyungsoo frowned. What in the world made Chanyeol think Kyungsoo wanted to be anything like he was, some jock with a hulking physique and girls hurling themselves at his feet? Kyungsoo’s tastes were not so primitive.

Meanwhile, Baekhyun seemed to understand what Chanyeol was implying (of course he would). He gasped loudly, hands covering his mouth, “Oh Chanyeol, you didn’t!”

“Told you I listened whenever angels spoke,” Chanyeol’s grin was so wide Kyungsoo could almost count all the teeth in his mouth. He also wanted to smash them all in, but that could probably wait till the day— if it ever came— they broke up.

“I think Junmyeon over there is calling me,” Kyungsoo said icily, collecting his tray once more. Baekhyun grabbed his hand so fast it was a blur.

“No, this is about you, Kyungsoo!” he said excitedly, tugging Kyungsoo to sit down. By then, his appetite had vanished and his half eaten yogurt might as well have been mud in a cup.

“What is it?” Kyungsoo said, expression pained.

“Well, I happened to mention to Chanyeol that you were having trouble finding a club you could join as an extracurricular activity ever since you couldn’t get into the library club,” Baekhyun explained.

“And I promised that I’d help out a friend if I could and since we’re having tryouts today, I could fit you in if you wanted,” Chanyeol offered.

Kyungsoo glowered at the both of them, sticking mental daggers into Baekhyun’s forehead. How dare Baekhyun bring that up to Chanyeol? It was a painful, traumatic secret that Kyungsoo only told Baekhyun because he thought he knew how to keep his mouth shut but apparently not. 

The school’s library club only accepted five freshmen a year because obviously, it didn’t take much labor to run a library. Kyungsoo naturally applied to be a member since he wasn’t going to join some sports team or anything that required him to stand out.

The problem was that he _never_ thought in a million years that he’d be rejected (neither did Baekhyun) because c’mon, no one actually applied to be a member. The punch line though, the reason why he almost cried for the first time in thirteen years (his best record) was that he’d been rejected because they needed someone tall enough to reach the top shelves in the library.

He felt like a fucking hobbit.

It was devastating to say the least because for one, he didn’t have any other back up clubs to join and it was also the bare minimum to join at least one club so his high school diploma wouldn’t be at the bottom of the pile when he applied for a job after graduated. Kyungsoo still had six more months left in the year and could hope that a new club could pop up, but it was highly unlikely.

Back to the present: How did Baekhyun ever get into his love diseased head that Kyungsoo would ever join the goddamned football team? Furthermore, Chanyeol had to be clinically insane; anyone could tell at a glance that Kyungsoo wasn’t exactly an athlete.

“How do you put this?” Kyungsoo said calmly, trying to get his thoughts in order. Baekhyun and Chanyeol waited expectantly, holding hands under the table.

“First of all, thank you for the offer,” he said in a steady voice, “And I really appreciate that you’re trying for me, Baekhyun and you too, Chanyeol. However, it is as likely that I will become a player worthy to be on a football team as our Chemistry substitute teacher will be none other than Chris Hemsworth himself.”

Chanyeol smiled blankly at him. Kyungsoo could practically see the question marks over his head as he tried to comprehend what Kyungsoo just said. “Y-You— Chris Hemsworth—”

Baekhyun luckily, could read through the lines clear enough and rolled his eyes so far back into his head he looked possessed for a very brief and scary moment.

 “Look Kyungsoo,” he said, taking a deep breath. Kyungsoo knew the feeling.

“There’s no harm in actually trying out for the team, y’know. Every team has like two or three extras sitting on the bench just in case someone gets injured and needs a replacement—”

“You and I both know I would be the worst replacement on any sports team,” Kyungsoo declared. Chanyeol furrowed his eyebrows together at him, “So you want Chris Hemsworth to be on the team?” he asked.

Baekhyun shook his head, tutting like a mother. “No, that’s not what he meant, honey, let me handle this.” Then he turned his pleading gaze unto Kyungsoo.

“Kyungsoo, don’t be so quick to reject this. You know you need it as an extracurricular activity and you don’t actually have to stay on the team till we graduate. Someone better is bound to come along, and maybe by then you might have found a club to join so that person can replace you easily. Plus, it’s good exercise if nothing else, so you really don’t have a reason to not join the team at this point,” Baekhyun said determinedly.

He had a point. Well, he had about four good points that Kyungsoo couldn’t argue with.

But there was still the fact that Kyungsoo didn’t want to be on the jock’s team simply because he did not want to. It was such a _guy_ thing to do; couldn’t he be in the chess club or something? (Not that he could play chess in the first place)

Knowing that Kyungsoo couldn’t argue with him, especially not with Chanyeol there beside them, Baekhyun relaxed at once. Kyungsoo sighed heavily, looking down at his yogurt.

“I’ll think about it,” he said stubbornly after a moment of silence. He didn’t want to give in right away and let Baekhyun have the satisfaction of having his way with Kyungsoo (it happened far too often). Besides, he really did need to think about being a member of the football team, the most basic sport mankind had ever invented.

-

When Kyungsoo walked into his next class after break time with Baekhyun, he almost tripped and bowled over because what the actual fuck, was that Chris Hems-motherfucking-worth in a blue office shirt and dark slacks at the teacher’s desk?

Even Baekhyun noticed and his eyes almost fell out of his skull. They just looked at each other and then tried to pretend they didn’t notice anything different or strange when Chris Hemsworth-the-Chemistry-substitute-teacher-and-not-the-actor-because-that-was-fucking-impossible looked up at them.

“Hello, class,” he said in perfect Korean to the slow stream of students trickling into his class.

 Many of them had the same reaction as Kyungsoo did; look up, connect the dots in their heads then struggle to appear normal, as if Thor wasn’t looking at them in the eye right now with his twinkling blue eyes.

 _God, this had to be some kind of sick joke_ , Kyungsoo thought, sinking into his seat. 

When everyone settled in and Chris Hemsworth introduced himself as John Salvatore, their Chemistry teacher for the week as a replacement for cranky old Mrs. Jung, Baekhyun immediately scribbled into his notebook beside Kyungsoo, a sure sign he was writing a note, and Kyungsoo could guess what he was about to say.

He leaned over to his right slightly when Baekhyun pushed his notebook to the edge of the desk for Kyungsoo to read:

_I don’t care what he calls himself, this is Thor teaching us how to balance equations!!_

Mr. Salvatore was doing a short introduction to the class and he turned away to write his name in neat and short Korean alphabets on the whiteboard. Kyungsoo quickly whispered to Baekhyun, “Don’t be fucking ridiculous, he is who he says he is. And this doesn’t have anything to do with the football tryouts.” He added a glare at the end. 

Baekhyun did the thing where he puckered his lips out when he was displeased and rolled his eyes. Kyungsoo eye rolled him right back. Then Baekhyun wrote something in his notebook again when Mr. Salvatore told them to turn their textbooks to page 187.

_I don’t get it, Thor is our teacher now, so what’s stopping you from joining the football team? You might be good, you never know. I would also like to remind you that Jongin is coming back next week for another game and it would be ~nice~ to see him up close as he runs across the field, hm? ;-)_

Kyungsoo had told Baekhyun about Jongin walking him home and what happened after too, had texted him the news the second he was up in his bedroom. Baekhyun unsurprisingly, didn’t see the text till much later and he had replied Kyungsoo that they noticed Jongin had left, but when he came back he had claimed that he’d taken a walk for some fresh air. He also had seemed a little dazed and out of it when they finally left Moe’s but Baekhyun didn’t think there was anything behind it till he saw Kyungsoo’s text and understood everything.

Kyungsoo wrote a reply on his textbook: _It’s not like I’m into Jongin. It was just a friendly gesture._

Truly, it had to be a friendly gesture. There was no way Jongin wanted anything more from Kyungsoo. Maybe it was as Jongin had said; he wanted a walk, then perhaps saw Kyungsoo crossing the street and just offered to walk him as an excuse to escape Moe’s for a while.

Two birds killed with one stone, and he also managed to make Kyungsoo’s heart flutter for the first time but let’s not go down that road, not when Kyungsoo had finally stopped thinking about Jongin. Yes, Jongin was hot and looked uber cool with his pink hair but he was _way_ out of Kyungsoo’s league. Hell, he was out of his universe, even.

Baekhyun pushed his notebook towards the edge of the desk again, snapping Kyungsoo out of his thoughts.

_The same way I’m friendly with Chanyeol when I want to get into his pants, yeah._

Kyungsoo wanted to slap him. Also, that was TMI; he did not want to know how Baekhyun was when he wanted to get into anyone’s pants, though he imagined it wouldn’t be too hard with Chanyeol and _oh shit, he got me imagining things now, oh for Christ’s sake—_

“You two over in the back,” Thor’s voice suddenly said. It sounded like a clap of thunder— no pun intended there at all— and scared the bejesus out of Kyungsoo. They both looked up at the teacher, eyes wide.

“You’ve been writing notes to each other ever since you came in. Is it a conversation you’d like to share with the class?” he asked, folding his arms. God, he even sort of sounded like Thor. Or Chris Hemsworth. Both of them actually. This was _impossible_ ; Kyungsoo was waiting for the hidden cameras to crash through the walls any minute now.

“We were just talking about how you looked a lot like Thor and how thunder could provide so much electricity to the people if it could somehow be channeled,” Baekhyun spoke up first in a serious voice.

Chris-Hemsworth-in-disguise-as-Mr. Salvatore looked honestly surprised then impressed at Baekhyun’s response.

“Ah. Well, that’s an excellent theory. Now you see, when electricity meets a conductor…”

*

Kyungsoo dragged his sneakers on the ground, pressing his weight down hard as Baekhyun and Chanyeol dragged him, literally, by the arms to the school field.

“I don’t wanna do this,” Kyungsoo howled.

His voice echoed through the emptying hallways of the school. He had never felt so betrayed by his own best friend in his entire life. All the small sacrifices he’d made for Baekhyun flashed in his head: that time when he covered for Baekhyun when he fell out of the tree but Kyungsoo instead said he pushed Baekhyun too hard because he knew how much Baekhyun loved climbing trees, that one time a teacher disliked him because she didn’t like Baekhyun’s mother and therefore hated anyone who was in any way associated with her. He never knew why she counted him as Baekhyun’s mother’s ‘associates’ anyway; he was just a kid.

He did all of that, only to be repaid by being slammed into his locker not kindly by Chanyeol when the last bell rang minutes ago, tugged away by the giant beast as Baekhyun took his school bag in the heat of it all and flung it into his locker roughly, kicking the door shut.

“We’ve got shit to do,” Baekhyun had said to him, eyes shiny and bright. Kyungsoo didn’t have to ask to know what their plans were.

They spoke conversationally over Kyungsoo as they dragged him over to the shower room first, where the lockers and uniforms were. It stank of sweat, dirty laundry and dude to Kyungsoo; he wrinkled his nose at the pungent odor. Some guys were already there, some dressed and some not. All of them looked at them as they passed, and some even greeted Chanyeol.

Kyungsoo quickly looked away before he saw anything that he wasn’t supposed to see, allowing himself to be dragged to a row of lockers with no one around.

Chanyeol forced him onto the bench and placed his heavy hands over his shoulders to keep him in place while Baekhyun hurried away to get one of the uniforms for Kyungsoo.

“Be right back, ‘kay? Give him a pep talk, why don’t you?” Baekhyun said to Chanyeol as he disappeared around the corner. Kyungsoo tried to shake Chanyeol’s stupid and heavy arms off, grumbling under his breath.

“You know, I know you hate this right now but trust me, Kyungsoo, I’m on the team and I’ll take care of you. Baekhyun really cares about you and wants to repay for all you’ve done for him and this is my way of thanking you too, for taking such good care of my baby angel,” Chanyeol said to him in a rather low voice. He sounded 1000% caveman when he did that.

“It’s not taking care of me if I don’t want it. And if you ever hurt Baekhyun, I swear to God, Chanyeol, I will break your legs,” Kyungsoo threatened, gritting his teeth.

“I don’t doubt it,” Chanyeol chuckled, rattling his shoulders in what was supposed to be a friendly gesture. It rubbed Kyungsoo the wrong way, only agitated him more. He didn’t say anything in reply, too proud to say anything more to a giant fool that Baekhyun happened to be in love with.

When Baekhyun finally returned with two sets of jerseys, shoulder pads and everything else, Kyungsoo felt a sense of horror creep over him.

He hadn’t quite thought about this part; was he supposed to take everything off in front of them to change into the uniform? Kyungsoo had not taken his clothes in front of Baekhyun since they went swimming when they were eleven and Baekhyun made fun of his ‘big pepper’.

Baekhyun threw one set to Chanyeol over Kyungsoo’s head. He caught it and randomly opened up one of the lockers, immediately stuffing it in so he could start taking off his clothes.

Kyungsoo stared in a frozen position on the bench, unsure if he was supposed to look away or follow his example or just melt into the ground to die. Baekhyun stepped closer to him, gesturing for him to get up.

“What?” Kyungsoo croaked, looking up at his ex-best friend.

“Get up so I can help you put the uniform on. It’s gonna seem complicated on the first time so you just watch and learn while I get you into the uniform,” Baekhyun said. Kyungsoo made a face, hunching down his shoulders.

 “I don’t wanna take off my clothes in front of you,” Kyungsoo said mournfully.

Chanyeol threw his shirt aside as Kyungsoo said that. He had a black tank top on and blinked at them innocently.

Baekhyun sighed, rolling his eyes. “You don’t need to get naked for it, y’know, just leave your top on if you’re so shy about it… but you definitely have to take off your jeans. There’s a different kind of pants you have to wear on the field,” Baekhyun held up something black and limp with hard things bulging from it here and there.

Kyungsoo felt like spitting on Baekhyun.

“You know, if you had told me this earlier I would’ve worn something a little more fitting for the occasion,” he grumbled, getting up reluctantly. He was slightly relieved he could leave his shirt on, though he knew it would be disgusting when this was all over.

 _I don’t even have an extra set of clothes_ , he thought sadly.

Kyungsoo stood there as Baekhyun made him put on everything one by one. He looked and felt bulky as hell when he was done; there were shoulder pads, thigh pads, knee pads… God only knew how bad it was going to be later on if he needed this much protection at the tryouts. It made him feel worse too when he saw that Chanyeol fitted the uniform like a second skin.

“Not bad,” Baekhyun stood back to admire Kyungsoo while stroking his chin. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes at him.

“Are we gonna go now—”

“Oh wait, I almost forgot,” Baekhyun snapped his fingers. He brought a helmet out of nowhere and popped it on Kyungsoo’s head, completing the bulky-and-idiotic footballer look. He felt like a fool standing there by the lockers to pretend to be a player.

“Are you sure I can get in, Baekhyun? Don’t you think the coach would mind?” Kyungsoo asked as they led him to the field.

Chanyeol waved a dismissive hand. “Coach trusts us to pick new members. As long as you’re not a key player, he doesn’t care.” Kyungsoo’s heart deflated at that; at this point, he was willing to beg to be kicked off the team if Chanyeol put him in.

“Just try it out, Kyungsoo. You know you need it. Besides, Chanyeol will take care of you, won’t he?” Baekhyun smiled.

Chanyeol nodded seriously. “I’ll try. The guys aren’t too bad either,” he said. _How comforting_ , Kyungsoo thought.

They constantly tried to butter Kyungsoo up the entire time they walked with him. Kyungsoo hardly heard most of it, a faint roaring in his ears growing louder and louder as he approached the large field, empty bleachers surrounding the area. The guys from the locker room were already warming up by running laps around the field. He kept going through the worst scenarios that could happen at this point; he would break a bone, he would let the team down, Jongin would think he was a fool…

 _Hold up there_ , Kyungsoo frowned. Why should Jongin’s opinion matter? Wasn’t like he had a thing for him anyway.

“Alright guys, let’s do this!” Chanyeol bellowed beside Kyungsoo. He jumped a little at the sound of his loud voice, and then looked at Baekhyun.

“Baek, I don’t feel so good about this,” Kyungsoo started to say. Baekhyun looked annoyed at first then caught the vulnerable expression on his face. He hugged Kyungsoo fiercely, patting him on the back.

“Look, I know you feel nervous and it isn’t just about football. I know you’re feeling scared because you’ve never done stuff like this before and it’s okay to be nervous, Kyungsoo, but,” he pulled away to look at Kyungsoo sympathetically, “I think it’s time you tried out new things, Kyungsoo. Frankly, you need this push and if you really hate it, then I’ll tell Chanyeol not to put you on the team.”

Kyungsoo smiled at him weakly. “I…” he didn’t know what to say.

Baekhyun seemed to understand and smiled back, patting his shoulder. “I know. Now get out there and trash someone. I’ll be watching from here and cheering you on, I promise,” he said.

Kyungsoo still felt stupid when he walked to where the others were gathered on the field, their eyes gauging him up and down. But he went on with his shoulders squared; Baekhyun was right and for once, Kyungsoo was willing to admit it.

*

“Ow,” Kyungsoo yelped when Minseok clapped a hand over his shoulder blade. He pulled away at once, a horrified expression on his face.

“Oh God, did I hurt you? I’m so sorry, Kyungsoo, I didn’t mean to,” he blabbed, holding his hands up. Kyungsoo shook his head, laughing weakly to reassure he was fine. The muscles on his back were a little sore, but that was all.

The tryouts went… okay.

Kyungsoo didn’t exactly ace it, but he thought he did better than anyone ever expected. Chanyeol made them throw the ball around for ten minutes or so to see if they had butter fingers. Kyungsoo did alright since his hand and eye coordination wasn’t all that bad. The worst part was when they tested out their endurance by making them all sorts of exercises; Kyungsoo felt like he was in the military when he was done.

He came close to fainting halfway but fought the gathering darkness around his eyes when he learned that whoever fainted or puked during the tryouts were immediately eliminated. Three guys dropped out because they started to look green in the face and from there, the team voted for whoever they thought would do well on the team.

Kyungsoo thought the guy beside him, Luhan, would make it instead of him. He was breathing hard but looked like he could still go on if they made him run ten laps around the field.

In the end, to his surprise, the votes were a tie between himself and Luhan.

“Shorty here looks like he could be useful,” one of the members had said thoughtfully to Junmyeon, Chanyeol’s second in command. Kyungsoo later learned his name was Zitao. “He’s so tiny they probably wouldn’t think of him as a threat till it’s too late.” The guys had laughed at that while Kyungsoo went even redder in the face.

“So it’s decided. Let’s just keep both of them for now,” Chanyeol said decisively, “we need another extra anyway. If no one has any objections, then let’s head to the showers.”  

Kyungsoo thought it was done when he said that but apparently not. The members immediately swarmed Kyungsoo and Luhan (very subtly ushering them into the centre of a small circle) as they walked together back into the school, fishing for information left and right.

“Hey shorty, what’s your name?” someone asked.

He told them his name, his age, and which class he was in. There were so many questions directed at him that he soon got confused but Baekhyun swooped in for the rescue and answered their questions efficiently, linking arms with him. Luhan however, fitted right in and was already laughing with the others when they reached the showers. But that was alright to Kyungsoo because at least it wasn’t like he had to compete with him for a spot on the team (he would’ve lost to him for sure).

“I think they like you,” Baekhyun had whispered in his ear when the guys were distracted.

“Are you sure?” Kyungsoo had whispered back, frowning at him. How could he tell? They were calling him shorty for fuck’s sake and Kyungsoo wasn’t dumb enough not to know that most athletes had to be a certain height.

“They’re being friendly, of course. It’s always a good sign ‘cause it means they either think you’re cute or you’re a potential ace for the team.” Kyungsoo wasn’t sure if he should’ve felt insulted or thankful that the boys accepted him because he was ‘cute’.

This led to the situation right now, a day after the tryouts where Kyungsoo was wedged between Minseok and Junmyeon in the cafeteria during break time.

Baekhyun told him that it was a way to get to know each other over the first few days. Since he didn’t have any other option now that he was one of ‘them’, he sat his sore ass down on the seat and tried to be as inconspicuous as possible though it was a sight harder than he thought it would be. The boys kept asking him questions like are you into Wii or do you know this girl or that boy, and the two guys on either side of him kept patting him round the shoulders too (which hurt like a bitch).

Kyungsoo answered their questions as well as he could, but it was like killing cockroaches; they always came back no matter what you did.

“You know, I can’t wait for the game with the White Tigers next week,” Minseok suddenly spoke up. “It’ll be interesting to see how you and Luhan play against the Tigers.”

“Kyungsoo could probably crack a rib or two on the field if he was on the defense line. I’ve seen him in action,” Chanyeol said.

 _What kind of action?_ Kyungsoo thought. The closest Kyungsoo had ever been to being violent was only pinching or jabbing Baekhyun when he was being annoying, how was that going to help on the field? Baekhyun nodded gravely beside Chanyeol.

“You wouldn’t want to be on the opposing team against Kyungsoo,” he added.

The guys seemed to go quiet for a moment before Zitao said thoughtfully from the other end of the table, “Are you sure about that, because he looks way too small to be dangerous.”

Kyungsoo leaned over to glare at him, “Well, _you_ look like you want someone to break your jaw.”

Baekhyun sent him a thumbs up and a wink as the boys went _whoaaaa_ on Kyungsoo. Zitao looked like he was going to start crying.

“If anything, he could do all the trash talk,” Junmyeon remarked.

Everyone burst out laughing around the table except Kyungsoo. It was still a little weird to be sitting with them as if they’d been friends since forever (although he was very much grateful to Chanyeol that he was in that position). If he could keep this up for a year, maybe even less than that, it would look beautiful on his academic report.

-

For the next few days, Kyungsoo had to stay back after school hours to practice with the boys. Baekhyun stayed too, not for practice obviously, but just to hang around by the bleachers and cheer them on while looking through pictures of hot guys on his phone, showing some of them to Kyungsoo when they took short breaks.

Begrudgingly, Kyungsoo had to admit football wasn’t as bad as he thought. Once Minseok took the time to explain the concept of the game and the basic strategies they usually used in their games, it wasn’t that hard to guess who would move towards where at a particular moment. His stamina still wasn’t that great but he could at least run without stopping for around half an hour before he had to sit down. Luhan would then gladly take over for him for the rest of the practice and the other guys didn’t really mind either.

Sometimes the guys would make weird comments at Kyungsoo though, like _‘You look really cute today, Kyungsoo_ ,’ or _‘Nice ass.’_ Kyungsoo even caught Junmyeon checking him out once while he was in the shower, which irked him to no end. Baekhyun had said that the guys liked him but he never thought he meant they liked him _that_ way. Kyungsoo was just glad that he was doing something for a change, instead of just worrying about things.

The night before the game with the White Tigers, Chanyeol and the coach agreed to a late night practice, so Kyungsoo headed to school after having dinner at home, walking with Baekhyun.

“You wanna know something really, really cool?” Baekhyun asked as they walked, failing to bite back on a big grin.

Jesus, not this _again_. Kyungsoo had to send a silent prayer to God for strength before he snapped at Baekhyun.

“What?” he scowled.

“Some of the White Tigers are already in town and guess where they’re hanging out,” Baekhyun said with a sly smile. Kyungsoo paused in his tracks, looking at Baekhyun in horror. Why were they so fucking early?

The game tomorrow was supposed to start at 5pm, which meant more than enough time for them to start travelling tomorrow morning, not tonight.

“Are they even allowed to watch us play?” Kyungsoo frowned. There had to be some rule against that.

“No, silly, I said _some_ of them, meaning the coach and,” Baekhyun feigned a girly gasp, “who would’ve known? The team captain!” Baekhyun squealed like a California girl. Kyungsoo felt his stomach flop around inside him, conflicted by all sorts of emotions.

“S-so what if Jongin is in town? It’s not like I care,” Kyungsoo said, turning his nose up and walking ahead of Baekhyun.

“Aw, c’mon, don’t pretend you don’t like the guy,” Baekhyun picked up speed to chase after Kyungsoo, “Everyone likes him, Kyungsoo, he’s cute, tall, tan, friendly… He’s your total opposite which is _exactly_ why he’s perfect for you,” Baekhyun snapped his fingers, grinning at Kyungsoo.

“He’s not perfect for me, okay, no one is. And I’m not heading to the game for that anyway. You know perfectly well why I joined the football team in the first place.”

“I do know, but isn’t Jongin the cherry on top of the triple chocolate cupcake?” Baekhyun batted his eyelashes sweetly at Kyungsoo. It didn’t work on him the way it would on Chanyeol. Kyungsoo just rolled his eyes at his best friend.

“Why are you trying to set me up with him anyway? S’not like he’s into me or something,” Kyungsoo grumbled. He pretended not to feel his heart clench at the thought of seeing Jongin again; it had been an entire month since he last saw him, and if he was honest with himself, he _had_ been thinking a little bit about him here and there. It was just simple little things like how he’d played on the field like a seasoned pro, his brazen pink hair and those eyes—

“You’re thinking about Jongin, aren’t you? God, you little shit, Kyungsoo, you _do_ have the hots for Jongin,” Baekhyun all but bellowed. Good, now the whole universe could listen in as well, maybe offer Kyungsoo some love advice too.

“Well, if you brought him up then of course he’d be on my mind,” Kyungsoo answered, cringing inwardly at how lame that excuse sounded.

Baekhyun didn’t buy it at all and skipped happily beside Kyungsoo like a little girl in preschool. Kyungsoo scoffed silently at him; he didn’t know what he could possibly be so happy about.

“Well, the good news is that Jongin totally has a thing for you. Why else would he be here in town, hours early just to hang out at our field? Fuck no, he came to see YOU!” Baekhyun shouted once more. Kyungsoo was getting worried for his friend’s sanity. He had been thinking about calling up a mental hospital to check him in; perhaps tonight he would get to it.

“Soo is getting a boyfriend, Soo is getting a boyfriend,” Baekhyun sang at the top of his lungs, holding his hands up to the sky and spinning around on one foot. Kyungsoo prayed Jongin wouldn’t suddenly drive or walk by to the sight of his best friend singing the worst song in the world with Kyungsoo in tow. That would be something he’d never be able to live down for the rest of his life.

He smiled a little though, at the thought of Jongin coming to town to see him. No one had ever done that for him, that was for sure, and although it most likely wasn’t true, Kyungsoo could pretend just for a minute that it was.

When they arrived at the school gates, Kyungsoo tried to mess with his hair so it wouldn’t lay too flat on his head like it did sometimes. Baekhyun caught him trying to look at his reflection when he passed a dark window and Kyungsoo stared at him in horror, but Baekhyun just stopped him to help fluff his hair up in a few spots.

“There. You look extra cute now. No way in hell Jongin could resist _this_ face with _this_ hair,” Baekhyun said affirmatively. Kyungsoo had to punch him on the arm to get him to shut up and act normal as they walked towards the field.

As Baekhyun said, Jongin and his coach _were_ there by the bleachers, chatting with Chanyeol and a few other members of the team in a loose circle. They didn’t see them approach at first, which gave Kyungsoo a solid, precious ten seconds to admire the planes of Jongin’s face and his smile and oh God, the way his face scrunched up when he laughed was just _so_ adorable. His hair was still pink as well, though it looked lighter now.

Then of course, Baekhyun just had to ruin the moment by yelling, “GUESS WHO’S BACK, BITCHES?!” while running towards Chanyeol with open arms. Truly, his best friend had no shame.

Kyungsoo walked the rest of the way alone (awkwardly too), uncomfortable under everyone’s gaze. Jongin and his coach stared for a beat or two as well, perhaps wondering if he was as mental as Baekhyun was.

Jongin’s coach looked like he could kill him with his eyebrows if he wanted to; his name was Kris or Crust or something along those lines. Nevertheless, Kyungsoo approached them cautiously, only to have Zitao and Sehun casually throw their arms over his shoulders and tug him towards the centre of the group. They were scarily quiet too, like they’d been gossiping about him before he arrived. Very strange.

“Had your dinner, Soo?” Chanyeol asked, breaking the awkward silence first. He looked like he was going to burst out laughing anytime soon and Kyungsoo wanted to wipe that expression off his face with the ground.

“Yes. Have _you_?” Kyungsoo growled.

The boys burst out laughing, including Jongin and his crusty or crispy coach, who towered over Kyungsoo by a good twelve inches. His cheeks burned a bright red; what the fuck was so funny anyway?

“You have a nice time, Jongin,” Chanyeol said when he finally stopped hooting with laughter and (to Kyungsoo’s alarm) patted Jongin’s ass, “meanwhile, I think we can start practice now that Kyungsoo is here.” He sent a knowing look to Jongin which he nodded at.

Jongin then (also to Kyungsoo’s extreme alarm) patted Chanyeol’s ass right back and said, “I’ll just be over here with Kris. Don’t mind us, we won’t be stealing your tactics or anything like that,” he joked. _Oh, he’s Kris not crispy or crusty_ , Kyungsoo thought, blushing at his thoughts.

Of course he wasn’t crispy or crusty, he wasn’t a slice of toast for fuck’s sake—

“Good luck, Kyungsoo. Can’t wait to play with you tomorrow,” a voice said. It sounded _a lot_ like Jongin’s. Kyungsoo looked up cautiously; dear Lord, Jongin had just spoken to him while he was thinking of his coach as a slice of bread. He peered up from between Zitao and Sehun (which must’ve been a lovely reminder of how tall he was), laughing nervously.

“Ahaha, yes, I can’t wait too. Break a leg, huh?” Kyungsoo tried to crack a joke. No one laughed, of course, such was his bad luck. Only Baekhyun sniggered silently behind Chanyeol while the rest of them stared at Kyungsoo staring at Jongin’s beautiful face.

God, it was like ten angels blessed him or something, he was just so fine. Finally, a beat too late, Jongin laughed briefly, expression lighting up to the power of a thousand suns. Kyungsoo almost shrunk back from the intensity of it before remembering he was standing between two giants and tried to hold himself up a little taller.

“Yes, break a leg. Catch ya later,” Jongin replied. Then he walked off with slice-of-toast Kris the coach who was, oddly enough, wearing some kind of hip hop outfit like he thought he was Kanye West or some other rapper. The night couldn’t get any stranger.

-

Throughout the entire night, Kyungsoo could feel Jongin’s eyes on him. He didn’t play right away, just sat on the sidelines and waited for Chanyeol to decide it was his turn to play.

He’d sat on the grass beside Baekhyun, talking about inane things like homework and Troye Sivan and what color would look nice on Baekhyun’s toenails. Sometimes the boys would suddenly get intense on the field and Kyungsoo would turn his head in Jongin’s direction; each time, Jongin would meet Kyungsoo’s gaze, staring daggers right into his face. Kyungsoo practically had to drag his eyes away from Jongin.

“Jongin looks interested, hm?” Baekhyun murmured from the corner of his mouth when he pretended to stretch his arms and look around the field.

“Don’t talk like that, he’ll know you’re trying to be sneaky,” Kyungsoo scowled, touching his hair in a self conscious manner. Maybe he had a leaf stuck in his hair and Jongin was considering how to tell Kyungsoo without making it embarrassing for the both of them.

“He’s not looking right now ‘cause he caught me staring at you but let me just pretend to look at you and,” Baekhyun caressed Kyungsoo’s shoulder, smiling at him in a way that he never did with Kyungsoo. Horrified, Kyungsoo swatted his hand away.

“Aw yeah, he’s looking over here again. God, he’s squinting at me too. He’s just like you, squinting and glaring at me,” Baekhyun laughed, turning away from Kyungsoo’s direction. Kyungsoo sputtered at him, feeling blood rising to his cheeks. He gave Baekhyun a hard smack on his thigh for his unnecessary (and uncalled for) efforts.

“Don’t do that in front of Jongin! He’ll think we’re an item or something,” Kyungsoo hissed.

“Oh, so you care if he thinks you’re taken?” Baekhyun shot back, a wide, knowing smile on his face. Kyungsoo didn’t grace that with an answer, just huffed in annoyance at him and folded his arms. Why was his best friend such a double prat?

“Y’know what, I think I’m gonna take a walk,” Kyungsoo grumbled, getting up and patting the grass off his pants. Baekhyun started to get up as well and Kyungsoo pushed him over before he could get to his feet. “No. You stay,” Kyungsoo pointed at him. Baekhyun pouted up at Kyungsoo.

“Why can’t I come on a walk with you?” he asked.

“So you can come get me when it’s my turn to play,” he called behind his shoulder. Kyungsoo stalked off the field, heading to the locker room. Maybe he could splash some water on his face just to refresh himself.

Kyungsoo walked aimlessly around the school compound, circling the building since it was all locked up for the night. He wished he had picked up smoking just so he could have something to do to get his mind off Jongin, anything that could empty his thoughts for a few minutes. Kyungsoo didn’t know how Baekhyun handled crushes in its early stages, not knowing whether the other person liked him.

He wasn’t even sure if he really liked Jongin. Well, okay he _sort of_ did, but it was almost pointless. What was the use of liking someone completely out of his league? It would be akin to buying something he didn’t need.

After walking one round around the school, Kyungsoo stood against the wall, just staring at cars driving past the building blankly. The quiet soothed his frazzled nerves some; it was nice to get away from the boys and all their energy after spending so much time with them. His head emptied itself of thoughts for a while.

“Kyungsoo?”

“Is it my turn already?” Kyungsoo turned to the direction of the voice, expecting Baekhyun to look all apologetic and sorry. Instead, the silhouette of someone he didn’t recognize right away approached him cautiously, as if he wasn’t sure he was wanted at the moment.

Kyungsoo squinted, trying to see who it was. When he realized the person had pink hair and the loveliest face Kyungsoo had seen, he almost fell over from the weak feeling in his knees. Jesus really _was_ trying to scare the life out of Kyungsoo. Why the fuck was Jongin walking around the school when all Kyungsoo wanted to do was get away from him?

It must’ve been apparent on his face that he wasn’t looking forward to having a conversation with Jongin, because he said, “Um, I didn’t mean to interrupt you if— if you wanted a moment with yourself.”

“No, it’s alright, I was just… about to head back to the field anyway,” Kyungsoo lied, trying to not hyperventilate when Jongin stopped to stand about a foot away from him. Any closer and he would probably faint right at Jongin’s feet (the universe would appreciate that, for sure).

“Ah. Right, I-I saw you left the field and… I sort of wanted to talk to you about something,” Jongin said, sounding a little nervous.  

 _Here it comes_ , Kyungsoo thought. He would ask him for Baekhyun’s phone number and Kyungsoo would give it to him, and then they’d be in a polygamous relationship with Chanyeol. Later, they would get married and have dozens of babies—

“Why are you on the football team?” Jongin asked.

Well, that was certainly not what Kyungsoo had expected. “Pardon?” he said dumbly.

“I didn’t mean it like you can’t join the football team or a-anything like that, it’s just that a month ago you said weren’t into football,” Jongin hurriedly explained himself.

“Yes, I can see the confusion there,” Kyungsoo remarked. A few things had happened since Jongin last came to town, though nothing seemed to change the fact that he made Kyungsoo feel like he was running right into the sun.

“Erm, it’s a long story actually,” Kyungsoo started to say, waving a dismissive hand. There were way too many details that Kyungsoo did not care to repeat. Jongin smiled anyway, biting on a corner of his bottom lip as he leaned on the wall with one arm. Kyungsoo wanted to rip his hair out and kiss Jongin at the same time.

 _Holy shit, Kyungsoo, keep your dirty thoughts down, won’t ya?_ he berated himself.

“See, that’s where I have to stop you. Would you… care to tell me all about it if I took you out sometime?” Jongin said.

Kyungsoo stared at Jongin in amazement. What the fuck did he just say? Did he just say what Kyungsoo thought he said? No, no, no, no, no way.

“U-uh, um— What, what did you just say?” he stuttered, feeling his heart race in his chest. He desperately wanted to believe that he heard Jongin wrongly and at the same time he wanted it to be true too. Jongin looked embarrassed, gaze skittering down to the ground.

“I wanna take you out. You know, for ice-cream if you want, or pizza. Anything you want, I’m up for it,” Jongin said, shrugging.

“You and… me alone?” Kyungsoo said, voice cracking dismally.

Jongin chewed on his lip nervously, shifting his weight from foot to foot. “Well yeah, unless you already have someone you’re into.”

“No, I don’t. I mean, I’m not into Baekhyun. Or Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo said quickly. He regretted it immediately when Jongin raised an eyebrow and grinned at him. “That’s good to know,” he said wryly. Oh God, Jongin was so cute and sweet Kyungsoo wanted to die.

“But we’re on opposite teams. We’re playing against each other tomorrow,” Kyungsoo said weakly. He didn’t know why he was making excuses. If Baekhyun was here he would’ve jabbed him in the ass and said in his ear, ‘Stop cockblocking yourself and say yes already.’

Jongin looked up with a serious expression on his face, perhaps a trace of a smile lingering in his eyes. “I’d let your team win if it means you’ll say yes.”

Kyungsoo almost couldn’t help himself from melting into a puddle of goo. Why was Jongin going to so much effort to take boring old Kyungsoo out? It was going to be the biggest mistake he’d ever make, and by the end of it he’d probably regret asking him out in the first place—

“You know what?” Jongin spoke just as Kyungsoo opened his mouth to say yes (or no. Now he’d never know). Jongin took a step forward towards Kyungsoo, biting his lower lip.

“What?”

“You can your answer tell me tomorrow, after the game,” Jongin smiled, a full-on boyishly charming smile that all the girls swooned for. Hell, he even got Kyungsoo swooning on the inside, though maybe it showed a little on the outside too. He could feel his cheeks burning up rapidly.

“Okay,” Kyungsoo said in a low voice. What else could he have said? Jongin was practically daring him to a game.

*

“I can’t believe it,” Kyungsoo gaped at the scoreboard.

There was no way the numbers were right; the Black Bears had just won the game with 30-18. Not that Kyungsoo ever doubted Chanyeol’s leadership of course, but Jongin was a star player. Apparently, he’d never lost a game though obviously, things have now changed.

“I can’t believe it either. He wants to fuck you _so_ bad,” Baekhyun said in awe, at which Kyungsoo elbowed him in the ribs. Consequently, he crumpled over in pain while Kyungsoo continued to stare at the scoreboard, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

Jongin lost on purpose.

He had been running a lot slower than usual, passing the ball to the wrong team, or throwing it in the wrong direction at crucial moments the entire game. The crowd too voiced their disappointment in the White Tigers, yelling and throwing things at the field, even going so far as to fling a plastic cup at his crusty coach’s head (the people sitting on the bleachers behind him shriveled in fear when he gave them all the death glare).

Kyungsoo wanted to yell at him from the sidelines and tell Jongin that one date with him wasn’t worth losing a game over; he would’ve said yes at this point if it would get him to come to his senses. His glorious reputation was certainly _not_ worth a date with Kyungsoo.

The Black Bears meanwhile rejoiced in their victory, huddling in a circle and yelling incoherently at one another in hoarse voices. Kyungsoo stood to one side with Baekhyun, grimacing at the scoreboard all the while. He glanced over to where the White Tigers were; they looked rather disappointed but Kris-the-crusty-coach had a cool expression on his face, saying something to Jongin. Kyungsoo quickly looked away when they both glanced in Kyungsoo’s direction.

“Oh man, I think he wants his answer now,” Baekhyun giggled, rushing off towards a very sweaty Chanyeol, thus abandoning his post as Kyungsoo’s back up guy. Kyungsoo protested wordlessly, watching him wrap his arms around Chanyeol’s wide shoulders and kiss him on the open mouth. A very disgusting sight.

Kyungsoo looked away to focus on something more pleasant and terrifying instead; Jongin walking towards him with his pink hair all messed up. His sweat only made him glisten like a sex god from Kyungsoo’s dream and he just had to do the thing where he held Kyungsoo’s gaze so he couldn’t look away even if his brain screamed at him to look away before he combusted into flames before Jongin.

“I guess I lost the game,” Jongin said in a monotone when he stood before Kyungsoo. He didn’t sound very disappointed and neither did his crusty coach look angry about it. Kyungsoo wondered how he’d managed to convince Kris that losing this game would be fine.

“Y-yes, you did,” Kyungsoo replied, looking up at the scoreboard again. Couldn’t he have made the loss look more inconspicuous, like 30-29? How the hell was Jongin supposed to win a scholarship now—

“But I’m still waiting for an answer from you, Kyungsoo. Will you go out with me?” Jongin asked, interrupting Kyungsoo’s errant thoughts.

“You idiot, I would’ve gone out with you even if you won the game,” Kyungsoo blurted angrily. Jongin blinked in mild surprise and smiled, biting on his lower lip. “But I wanted you to know that I wasn’t into Baekhyun or anyone else. If I didn’t lose then you might’ve thought I was asking you out only because you’re on the team.”

Kyungsoo chewed his lip nervously in silence.

“So was that a yes? You’ll go out with me?” Jongin asked.

Kyungsoo gave an annoyed huff. “Yes, but I don’t know why you thought you needed to go through all that effort—” Jongin swooped Kyungsoo up into his arms, planting a kiss firmly on Kyungsoo’s lips.

He made a strangled noise against Jongin’s oh-so-soft mouth before going pliant, placing his hands awkwardly over Jongin’s biceps. Kyungsoo didn’t know how to kiss someone but that didn’t seem to matter; Jongin knew more than enough to move his mouth over Kyungsoo’s lips bravely. A roaring noise slowly filled Kyungsoo’s ears as he pressed his mouth back onto Jongin’s lips feebly, wondering if he was doing right. Kyungsoo felt him smile and his heart thudded so hard against his chest, he was sure Jongin could feel it.

“I’ve been waiting to do that ever since I walked you home,” Jongin whispered, placing him back down on the ground. Kyungsoo felt himself floating down from cloud nine like a feather. Around him, he noticed the crowd had gotten up to their feet, though he didn’t know why yet (he had just shot to the top of every girl’s burn list). 

 “Hmm?” Kyungsoo hummed in reply, unable to think of anything else intelligent to say. Jongin suddenly smacked Kyungsoo’s bum lightly, shocking him out of his rosy thoughts.

“That too,” Jongin smirked.

Kyungsoo shoved him away with more strength that he intended but Jongin didn’t seem to feel it. He just laughed like the seemingly carefree boy that he was while Kyungsoo blushed a bright red like a tomato. The Black Bears and White Tigers sniggered on at the both of them. Kyungsoo hated that he was so affected by Jongin but still… maybe just one date wouldn’t be an entirely bad idea.

 

 

 


	3. bring your own lampshades (somewhere there's a party)

“You’re coming, right?” Baekhyun asked excitedly.

“Yes, you’re coming, right?” Jongdae chirruped along. Kyungsoo gave them both a scathing look that, months ago, would’ve shut them up nicely. Instead, they just continued to look at him expectantly till he broke down and sighed in exasperation.

“Do I really have to go to the bonfire? I don’t like bonfires, there’s fire, too many people, too much alcohol near a big fire—” Kyungsoo would’ve gone on listing the dangers of attending a bonfire without a certified adult present if Jongdae hadn’t held a hand up to stop him.

“Who cares if there’s too much alcohol near a fire, dude? Then it’ll just be a bigger fire, and it’ll give us all something to watch,” he grinned, the corners of his mouth curling upwards and the corners of his eyes curling downwards. His smiling expression reminded Kyungsoo of a cute kitten, except he knew the kind of biceps Jongdae had hiding under his bomber jacket.

It had been ten months since Kyungsoo had joined the football team and eight months since he _left_ the football team, and Jongdae had since stepped in to replace him. They had known each other for some time before that but were closer now, bonding over mutual friends on the football team, though Kyungsoo wouldn’t call the other boys his ‘friends’. Maybe ‘people who can’t seem to leave me alone during lunch’ or ‘annoying fucks’ was more like it.

However, it seemed like all that time was not enough to convince his friends that even though the impossible actually happened and he was now in a relationship with Jongin, the White Tigers football team star player, it didn’t mean that he had changed in any way fundamentally.

He still didn’t like big crowds but neither of them seemed to get it; just because Jongin had RSVPed and told them he’d be going to the bonfire didn’t mean Kyungsoo was coming along for sure too.

“You _have_ to come, Soo,” Baekhyun pleaded with him, hands clasped tightly together before Kyungsoo. It was lunchtime right now, a time Kyungsoo took to enjoy his homemade lunches, but Kyungsoo wished it was History class so Baekhyun and Jongdae could shut their faces and quit bothering him.

“But I don’t _want_ to come,” Kyungsoo replied vehemently. Jongdae shook his head, not taking no for an answer.

“Everyone and their sister is going to be there, how can you not come? And what are you going to do if you’re not gonna go to bonfire night?” Jongdae chided him.

Oh, there was a lot he could do. Chill and watch TV, for one, or cook something for Jongin to eat because obviously nothing healthy will be served on bonfire night, or maybe even just catch up on sleep and let the night melt away into morning. So many options, but Jongdae wasn’t having it; he rattled on before Kyungsoo could even form a reply.

“I know there’s a lot of homey things you can do, Soo, but really, it’s just one night. Every other kid from three different towns is gonna be right here in _our_ town and you can mingle and make new friends—”

“I don’t need new friends,” Kyungsoo said flatly. He had had enough of those in the form of his school’s football team, thank you very much. In fact, that was already too many ‘friends’ in his opinion. Jongdae’s eyes lit up with a curious glint at his reply.

“Well, I believe you, but _Jongin_ might want some new friends,” he drawled, “You sure you don’t wanna keep an eye on him?” Jongdae grinned, waggling an eyebrow at him.

What atrocity was this? He furrowed his eyebrows at Jongdae. Kyungsoo trusted Jongin completely, he was the best boyfriend anyone could ask for; to ‘keep an eye on him’ would suggest insecurity in their relationship.

“Yeah, I mean what if a girl tries to kiss him while they’re both drunk?” Baekhyun swooped in like a hawk.

 _Highly unlikely_ , Kyungsoo thought immediately. He’d light the girl on fire before she ever came near Jongin with her lips puckered for a drunken kiss.

“‘Course, Jongin’s gonna be honest and explain it all away if there’re rumors floating around but wouldn’t it be better to see it all with your own eyes?” he smirked wickedly. Kyungsoo pursed his lips at them. The lengths they were going to just to get him to attend this stupid event.

He shook his head at his friends. “Can I have some time to think about it, at least?” he finally said in his best condescending tone to get them off his case.

Baekhyun pumped his fists in the air, hissing _yesssss_ under his breath. “The last time you said that, I managed to land you a spot on the football team so sure,” he grinned, snapping his fingers and getting out of his seat to run towards Chanyeol’s table before Kyungsoo could fling his tray of food at him.

Jongdae laughed lightly at Kyungsoo’s expression. Apparently their antics amused him. He patted Kyungsoo on the arm sympathetically, “Just come, okay? Bonfire night is next week so maybe you can arrange something with Jongin till then. I mean, c’mon, he’s the White Tigers _captain_ ; he can’t be going alone too, right?”

What the fuck was that supposed to mean? Kyungsoo watched him bugger off to chat with Chanyeol and the boys at the other side of the cafeteria. Just like that, he was left alone to wonder if bonfire night was as big of a deal as they were making it out to be. 

Ever since he’d started dating Jongin, there had been a constant stream of invitations (more like expectations) to parties where, prior to dating Jongin, he’d never been invited to. Kyungsoo rejected all of them so far, of course, because he knew that people were only extending the invitation because of Jongin’s influence but really, why was high school so superficial?

If Jongin was the local celebrity between them, why was he expected, forced even in this case, to come along too? Couldn’t he choose not to go?

Kyungsoo didn’t want to let this matter bother him, but it did.

It prodded at him through Baekhyun who asked him about it again when they were walking home from school, insisting on a straight answer before they reached their respective doorsteps.

“Why don’t you wanna go, Kyungsoo, aside from the fact that you hate big crowds? There’s me, Chanyeol, Jongin, Jongdae… You can just talk to one of us instead of new people if it bothers you so much,” Baekhyun said, kicking a pebble out of his way. Kyungsoo shrugged his shoulders.

“I just think it’s stupid that I have to go just because Jongin is going. I trust him and I don’t think he’d try anything there and besides; he’d enjoy it more than me,” Kyungsoo mumbled.

“But it’s like a show of support, Soo, to show that you both are like, the real deal. I mean, you both have never actually been seen publicly even though Jongin tells everyone you’re his boyfriend—”

“He does that?” Kyungsoo cringed. Baekhyun snorted at him.

“He always finds a way to bring you up in a conversation somehow… It’s always ‘ _Did you hear Jongin say his boyfriend is in the library club?_ ’ or ‘ _Jongin told me that Kyungsoo used to play football a few months back._ ’ How else do you think people know about you both anyway?”

And here Kyungsoo was, thinking they were actually keeping a low profile. Perhaps that explained the invitations to parties that he’d never attend.

Still. “I dunno, maybe people have seen us on one of our dates—”

“You’ve only been on like, four official dates with him and they were all in remote places like the park at night and the cinema,” Baekhyun scoffed, “you need to show yourself at least once that you’re his boyfriend and not as Do Kyungsoo, proud member of the library club,” Baekhyun gestured grandly with his hands.

“I love being in the library club,” Kyungsoo felt compelled to say.

“Yes, I know,” Baekhyun nodded very seriously.

The minute he’d heard about the opening in the library club after one of the members suddenly moved to another country, he literally threw in the towel and signed up right away, claiming that football had toughened him up some and he’d be as good as anyone else five inches taller than him. They were dubious, but accepted since no one else wanted to join. 

“But still, Baekhyun, it’s just a bonfire—” Kyungsoo started to protest.

Baekhyun cut him off, “With around ten thousand people attending, and it so happens that all of them know Jongin, so therefore they know you. All I’m saying is that you should show up just for a short while, at least.”

Kyungsoo gave him a side long glance as they walked in momentary silence. “Is this what you tell yourself because you’re dating Chanyeol?” he asked slowly.

“Of course. One should live up to the people’s expectations if one wants to remain in the spotlight,” Baekhyun huffed. Kyungsoo chuckled; he knew Baekhyun was never one to shy away from attention, a good trait to have since he was still dating Chanyeol (but bad since it meant every time he tripped over something people would know that it was him). At this rate, they were probably going to get married after graduation.

 “I still don’t get it anyway. Jongin’s never once made me go to a party where I don’t know most of the people,” Kyungsoo said, feeling a little proud to be able to say that.

Jongin deserved all the credit for being the most accommodating person Kyungsoo had ever met; despite who he was, the distance between them and his busy schedule, Jongin always, _always_ made time and space for Kyungsoo. He loved him a lot for that.

“You’re _so_ whipped,” Baekhyun noted, watching the blush spread across Kyungsoo’s cheeks. He sputtered and tried to stomp on Baekhyun’s foot to shut him up but he merely skipped out of the way and laughed.

“If he’s such a great boyfriend then isn’t it time for you to return the favor?” he asked nonchalantly, swinging his scarf around in circles.

Well. That cut Kyungsoo short. Was he being too selfish about not wanting to go to stupid parties and bonfires? Jongin had never said anything about showing the goddamned world they were a thing, but maybe it was because Kyungsoo was so intent on not being the center of attention that he forgot to consider what Jongin’s thoughts were on this matter. 

“Aha, I got you thinking about now, didn’t I?!” Baekhyun shouted when he noticed Kyungsoo was a little too quiet.

“Shut up,” he muttered under his breath, blushing.

“Just seriously consider it. The bonfire only happens once a year anyway, so you might as well be at the best party of the year and then never go to any other parties again,” Baekhyun suggested, humming as he skipped a few steps ahead of Kyungsoo.

He wanted to choke Baekhyun with his damned scarf for making him feel conflicted. Kyungsoo thought this was probably the most redundant thing he’d ever have to think about but it seemed like he was going to have to ask Jongin about it tonight.

*

  
When it was nine p.m., the hour where Jongin would text him to see if he was free to talk over the phone as per usual on a weeknight, Kyungsoo felt inexplicably shaky.

He told himself it was nothing to worry about and Jongin would be understanding about Kyungsoo’s discomfort of being in close proximity of more than ten people, yet he couldn’t shake off the feeling that maybe Jongin might’ve actually wanted him to go to all the parties they’d been invited to and he was only too nice to say anything about it.

 _What if I’ve been such a terrible boyfriend this whole time and Jongin’s been miserable for the past ten months?_ Kyungsoo chewed his lip nervously, staring at his phone.

If he was miserable, then he’d been doing a damned great job at acting though. Throughout the entire time they were ‘dating’ (Kyungsoo couldn’t think of that word yet without the hyphens), Jongin was nothing short of attentive and caring. He’d managed to make Kyungsoo feel safe without coming off as controlling, doted on without appearing obsessive…

It didn’t feel like _dating_ at all; as Baekhyun pointed out, they’d only ever gone out four times mostly because Kyungsoo didn’t want Jongin to spend any more money than necessary to take him out and also because it didn’t feel like something they needed to do. Kyungsoo preferred their hushed phone calls late at night, their walks at the park just down the road from Kyungsoo’s home.

No, it didn’t feel like dating at all; it felt like something more, something that Kyungsoo could hold onto.  

Lost in his thoughts, Kyungsoo was fiddling a worn leather bracelet absently around his wrist, one of the little gifts that Jongin had left him every time he came to town to see Kyungsoo, when his phone buzzed and he scrambled to read the text.

_J♥ngin: ‘Got time to talk?’_

Kyungsoo could have ten assignments due the next day piled up on his desk and he’d still take this call. _All thanks to Baekhyun and his meddling ways_ , he thought begrudgingly.

_‘Yeah, sure.’_

He tapped his foot anxiously on his bed for around thirty seconds before Jongin’s number lit up his phone once more (or blinged Kyungsoo’s hotline, as Baekhyun would so eloquently put it). Kyungsoo picked up after letting it ring twice, clearing his throat.

“Hey,” he said, trying to sound normal. It was very hard to achieve considering the fact that Jongin still gave him butterflies in his stomach even when he _wasn’t_ worried about something. He didn’t think he’d ever feel settled from listening to Jongin’s voice.

“Hey yourself,” Jongin replied, and Kyungsoo could tell he was smiling. He couldn’t resist a stupid giggle, momentarily forgetting that this was supposed to be rather solemn conversation. For fuck’s sake, why did Jongin always have to make him feel like a twelve-year-old girl talking to her crush for the first time?

“How was your day? Did you get to run around the field again?” Kyungsoo asked, trying to gain some semblance of normal, casual conversation.

“It was fine… Practice was tough as usual with Kris. He’s always pushing me to run another lap or throw the ball higher up into the sky,” Jongin chuckled softly, the timbre note in his voice sending shivers down Kyungsoo’s spine. Not for the first time, Kyungsoo thanked his lucky stars silently for Jongin’s ongoing interest in Kyungsoo (though he wasn’t sure how long he could live without combusting at some point from the sound of Jongin’s voice).

“Oh? Well, my day was pretty mediocre. Baekhyun and Jongdae were annoying, as usual,” he casually threw their names in.

“Friends usually are,” Jongin agreed. Kyungsoo bit his lip, trying to calm his frantic heartbeat. To die or not to die, that was the question here. He curled up into a ball on his bed, “Hah, yeah, that’s true,” he said.

“And y’know, speaking of friends…”

“Hmm? You sound nervous,” Jongin remarked. _Damn_ , Kyungsoo cursed mentally. How could he even tell?

“Nervous? Why would I be nervous?” Kyungsoo said hastily, trying to sit straight in what he thought was a confident position. God only knew how Jongin could tell he wasn’t exactly thrilled to be talking about this.

There was a muffled rustle, as if Jongin was adjusting himself on his bed too (not that Kyungsoo could really tell since he seemed to be lacking Jongin’s telepathic skills) before he spoke, “Your voice sounds a little more cheerful than usual. And you rarely talk about your friends.”

“That’s because they’re fools,” Kyungsoo said before he could stop. “But er, anyway, they mentioned something about a bonfire today at lunch,” he said.

Jongin hummed over the line. “Yeah, the bonfire by the quarry in your town next weekend. What about it?” he asked. Jongin sounded genuinely surprised in the direction of the conversation.

 _Good_ , Kyungsoo thought. The key to a successful attack was the element of surprise; Kyungsoo knew that usually only applied in wartimes but whatever. It seemed to be working on Jongin just fine.

“Well, I dunno. I know you said you’re gonna go but my friends were saying that I should go too,” Kyungsoo’s shoulders slumped. “I just wanted to know if you wanted me to come along, or if it’s okay for me to sit this one out?” Even though he never wanted to go in the first place, the thought of Jongin not wanting him to come along was a little hurtful for some reason.

Jongin was quiet, perhaps thinking of a way to answer this properly. It might as well be a trick question since Jongin was usually quick to reply any of Kyungsoo’s questions. He waited for a beat or two, and then Jongin spoke.

“I don’t actually mind if you wanted to come, since I’ll probably come over and see you before the party itself. It’s just that… you never liked parties, Kyungsoo. What’s changed?” Jongin asked, mildly concerned.

Kyungsoo’s toes curled in his socks and he scrunched his hands up into fists. He’d been hoping that Jongin wouldn’t ask him that.

“Mm, nothing really. I just thought… maybe the bonfire is fun,” he lied.

“You don’t like fires too,” Jongin replied dryly, “You told me that when I was telling you about the days when I used to go backpacking in the forest during summer.”

“Did I?” Kyungsoo said in a high pitched voice. Why the hell did he have to remember things so well?

“Yes. You told me it’d be a cold day in hell before you’d bring yourself close to a fire bigger than the ones on a stove cooker,” Jongin laughed. Kyungsoo groaned inwardly, annoyed and yet pleased at the same time that Jongin remembered all that Kyungsoo ever told him. However, he wondered dimly if he sounded so drunk whenever he was on the phone with Jongin. Perhaps he could take notes and be more sophisticated next time.

“Well, that’s… still sorta true but things have changed,” Kyungsoo cleared his throat.

“Apparently they have. And may I know why?” Jongin asked in a flirtatious tone that Kyungsoo found irresistibly sexy. He wanted to melt into the ground in a puddle of goo and tell Jongin every secret in his heart.

“I-It’s nothing, really,” Kyungsoo mumbled, picking at a spot on his blanket, “I just… wanted to know if you want me there at the bonfire.”

 _Even though I’m going to hate it_ , he added in his head.

“Of course I want you there,” Jongin said almost admonishingly. “We don’t go out all that often and it’d be great to pass time there with you. Unless of course, you don’t want to go, then it’s fine too.”

His answer was smooth, so smooth like a freshly mopped tiled floor that Kyungsoo fell over in love with him again. But he couldn’t help feeling like Jongin was holding back because he knew Kyungsoo didn’t want to go.

“Jongin, be honest though,” he tried again, “do you really want me to go? Without considering how I feel about it at all… would you want me to go with you to the bonfire?” he asked, biting down on his thumbnail. He tasted blood and metal on his tongue, waiting for Jongin’s reply.

“…In all honesty? Yes, I would love for you to come. But Kyungsoo, you don’t like it—”

“But you do. Right? I mean, you like it enough to go and also for me to come along. Then— Then I’ll go to the bonfire next weekend with you, Jongin,” Kyungsoo said, sounding a lot more determined than how he felt.

He was already feeling weak around the knees just thinking about the people who were going to be there, possibly to stare at them the whole night for whatever reason.

“Kyungsoo, you don’t have to do this for me,” Jongin said, sounding alarmed. “What’s gotten into you? Did your friends make you come to the party?” he asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

“No, it’s not them at all,” Kyungsoo hurriedly said before instantly regretting it.

Perhaps he could’ve admitted that yes, it was his friends who had planted the wretched seeds of doubt in his mind and then Jongin could toss them in the bonfire. That way, they could live happily ever after without Kyungsoo attending another party again but life was always in the way of Kyungsoo’s imagination.

“Well, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to, Kyungsoo. It’s just a party,” Jongin said.

Kyungsoo sighed wearily. “No, I will, Jongin. Don’t try to change my mind. I wanna be good to you for once,” he mumbled.

Jongin’s voice dropped an octave. “I think you’re good to me just the way you are.” Kyungsoo felt jitters skittering down his spine; the mild suggestion in Jongin’s voice always made him feel… _things_.

 _Why does he have to look hot_ and _sound hot?_ Kyungsoo thought forlornly, blushing hard. The blood on his thumb had all but dried; he was tempted to nibble on it again.

“Kyungsoo, you _know_ you don’t have to change yourself just to make me happy, right?” Jongin asked, trying one more time to convince Kyungsoo out of this. At any other time Kyungsoo would’ve gladly let him, but _this_ time Kyungsoo didn’t want to be a whiny, anti-social boyfriend.

He was going to be a quiet, slightly more social boyfriend. “I know. But it’s just one party, right?” Kyungsoo tried to laugh it off.

“There’ll definitely be more to come. What’s going to keep your friends from insisting that you go too?” Jongin replied, and Kyungsoo could tell he was smiling. The charming fucker. Kyungsoo wanted to run for the hills and scream at Jongin at the same time.

“We’ll see what happens then, I guess,” Kyungsoo said softly, unable to resist a small smile too. Baekhyun was going to scream his ear off later the minute he heard about this.

“Aha, I _knew_ your friends set up to it,” Jongin said without a trace of bite in his voice.

 Kyungsoo froze for a brief moment, recounted his words, before he slapped his forehead and kicked his feet noiselessly into the air.

“Nrrghhh,” was Kyungsoo’s frustrated reply.

He was such a fucking terrible liar, he really was. _And Jongin just had to call me out on it_ , he thought dimly, as he listened to Jongin chuckle lightly over the other line. But rightly so; that was what good boyfriends did.

“It’s alright, hyung,” Jongin laughed. _Stop laughing like that_ , Kyungsoo thought, still kicking his legs petulantly. It made him feel ten times more embarrassed and fifty times more reluctant to go to the bonfire. Good God, it made him feel like burying himself into his sheets and never come out.

“So you’re coming?” Jongin asked, when Kyungsoo made no reply.

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo growled.

Jongin sounded awfully happy for some reason. “Then I’ll see you next week, hyung. Don’t beat your friends up too hard, yeah?”

*

It was decided then for sure, that Kyungsoo would go to the Fucking Bonfire even though his soul was screaming to object the verdict.

The unfortunate event was named so firstly because Baekhyun informed Kyungsoo that it was usually the time when most students would lose their virginity to someone else in a drunken stupor, and also because it sounded nice in a way, like a rhyme.

The rest of the guys on the football team cheered loudly for some reason when Jongdae broke the news to them during break time. Kyungsoo could only hope that Jongin wasn’t actually like this when he was with his teammates because wow, only jocks were so pumped up all the time, like a pack of wolves about to go on a hunt together.

Jongin never behaved like this when he was with Kyungsoo, but then again Kyungsoo was also trying very hard to be a nice person to his friends (even though they didn’t really deserve it) to impress Jongin. Maybe they both were just showing their best sides to each other.

Regardless, the days flew by and soon Saturday afternoon came even though each and every night, Kyungsoo prayed fervently for a meteor to hit Earth so he didn’t have to go to the Fucking Bonfire.

His friends insisted on coming over after lunch to pick out something cute to wear later that night before Jongin would come over some time in the evening to pick him up.

 “You’ll need something with a little more pizazz than just your gross sweaters and black jeans,” Jongdae had remarked.

Baekhyun and Jongdae even said they’d bring some of their own clothes because they didn’t trust Kyungsoo to have anything in his closet that said ‘party’; it left him feeling very affronted. How could he be expected to have anything that was fireproof? This was an unforeseen event, otherwise Kyungsoo would’ve made plans and found reasons to not go to said Fucking Bonfire. 

And that was how Baekhyun, Jongdae and Chanyeol were crowded on Kyungsoo’s bed with their socks on, his anxiety levels at an all-time high for multiple reasons.

They kept making him put on outfits in his bathroom and coming back into the room like they were on _Sex and the City_. Each outfit so far was either not to their taste, too ill-fitting on Kyungsoo, or Kyungsoo himself didn’t like it. Ripped jeans weren’t exactly his thing even though Jongdae and Baekhyun insisted Jongin would probably rip the rest of it off of him (and no, he didn’t really want to think about that right now).

The pile of clothes in Kyungsoo’s room was slowly dwindling down to less than ten pieces, but they still had yet to find an outfit that they all could agree on.

“Guys, we really have to pick something before Jongin arrives soon,” Jongdae said, squishing his cheeks together out of boredom.

“I still think these white ripped jeans and your usual black shirt is nice on you. It’s like still you, but… sexified,” Baekhyun said eloquently, angling his fingers and pretending he was a photographer.  

“I don’t want to be sexified, I want to look presentable,” Kyungsoo said in a surly voice. He’d never seen jeans so badly ripped in his life, and neither had he ever thought he’d have to put them on.

Jongdae scratched his chin, frowning at the pile of unworn clothes and the ones Kyungsoo had already tried on. “There has to be something nice enough here though. I brought all my clothes that I thought would look great on you,” he mumbled, getting to his feet and flinging clothes here and there.

“Maybe the black ripped jeans? It didn’t show too much skin,” Baekhyun offered once more. Chanyeol hummed along, wisely keeping his mouth shut because he knew if he so much as complimented Kyungsoo, it’d be blue balls for a whole week.

“No, those were yours and they were so tight I had to suck in a breath to zip it up,” Kyungsoo shook his head. Baekhyun was a size smaller than Kyungsoo, and he was actually surprised the jeans didn’t rip open while he walked.

“That’s the point of skinny jeans,” Baekhyun pointed out in his best bitch voice, “although your thighs are much nicer and fuller than mine, so there’s that.” Kyungsoo hated his stupid thighs; he’d always thought that they were a little too big for his form.

“Oh wait, wait, what about my jeans, these blue ones? They fitted nicely, right?” Jongdae held up his stone wash blue jeans. They were only slightly ripped on the front, and wouldn’t show any skin underneath.

Kyungsoo vaguely remembered putting them on, but he couldn’t remember why they didn’t approve of them.

“Hmm, did he ever put them on?” Baekhyun squinted at them.

“Maybe the top he had on was too loud for us to notice it before. Put it on again, Kyungsoo, and then we’ll choose a top. Did your mom say we were supposed to order take out?” he asked.

Kyungsoo nodded. She had been ecstatic when Kyungsoo told her he was going with his friends. He suspected she was just relieved he had more than one friend, and she’d left him some money to order in while she took off to the park nearby to do some tai-chi with other middle aged women in the neighborhood.

“Good, I’m ordering three large pizzas then,” Jongdae said, draping the jeans over Kyungsoo’s shoulder. He could hear Chanyeol correcting Jongdae as he stalked off into the bathroom again, “Four large pizzas.”

“That’s right, I forgot you’re a dinosaur,” Jongdae snickered.

When Kyungsoo came out with the blue jeans on, he thought he looked alright. The jeans offered comfort in all the right places without looking too tight on him. Baekhyun however, didn’t think so, and immediately set out to find another top for Kyungsoo to wear while Jongdae spoke on the phone.

“Yes, I’d like extra pepperoni with that, and also— no,” he shook his head when Baekhyun held up a sweater with a big smile on his face. It had gold tassels hanging from it like a flapper dress from the 20s. Kyungsoo had no doubt it belonged to Baekhyun though he’d never seen him wearing it.

“What? Oh no, I still want the pepperoni,” Jongdae resumed talking on the phone. Baekhyun sighed quietly and then reached for a second top. It was a plain raglan sleeved top that belonged to Jongdae, and it wasn’t Baekhyun’s thing at all but Jongdae suddenly looked at it and nodded furiously.

“This crap?” Baekhyun pointed at it in disbelief.

Well, Kyungsoo wouldn’t necessarily call it crap… it looked something he’d wear.

“I will _cut_ you,” Jongdae said threateningly. “No, I don’t mean you,” he sighed on the phone, turning away.

“This doesn’t even look all that special. I mean, what does the print even mean?” Baekhyun said in utter disgust, holding up the shirt to Kyungsoo. It had a faded printed front, and it looked dressy enough to him without looking like he was trying too hard. He rather liked it, and would much prefer putting it on than anything else Baekhyun might suggest.

“I’ll wear it,” Kyungsoo snatched it out of Baekhyun’s hands and scampered into the bathroom, leaving his best friend no opportunity to protest.

When he put the entire outfit on, Kyungsoo looked in the mirror and thought, _not bad._ It was certainly the most colorful outfit he’d ever worn, and perhaps if Jongin looked closely enough, he’d appreciate that. _He better_ , Kyungsoo thought darkly. This party was going to be the first and last one for at least the next four months.

Then he felt a pang of guilt, because why couldn’t he just dress up and pretend to enjoy himself for Jongin? Why did he not like parties? What the eff was wrong with him?

“It doesn’t take you a year to put on a raglan sleeved tee, y’know,” Baekhyun’s voice suddenly called from Kyungsoo’s bedroom. He rolled his eyes at his reflection and unlocked the door, stepping out into the empty hallway upstairs. Kyungsoo could hear his friends chattering away.

Slowly, he made his way to his bedroom and the room fell quiet as he looked at his friends. “Well?”

Jongdae was the first one to react, a smile spreading across his face. “Oh my God, look at you, Kyungsoo, I knew you’d look great in that.”  

Baekhyun scoffed at that. “Oh come _on_ , it’s just a tee and jeans!”

Kyungsoo looked down at his clothes. It was an upgraded tee-and-jeans look, and that was a lot coming from Kyungsoo. He didn’t exactly upgrade his appearances a lot.

“I don’t care what you say, Baek,” Kyungsoo spoke up, “I actually quite like this look. And if I get all dressed up nicely Jongin is going to know you guys picked out the outfit, so… I think I’ll keep this on. Thanks, Jongdae,” he lifted a hand in Jongdae’ direction. Jongdae gave him a thumbs up and a killer smile.

Displeased that no one wanted his fashion advice any longer, Baekhyun just sat down beside Chanyeol and sulked about while Kyungsoo began to clear up his room before Jongin came over.

He was going to leave his things at Kyungsoo’s place tonight and they all were going to head to the bonfire in Chanyeol’s car together. It wasn’t the first time he was going to sleep over at Kyungsoo’s place, but it was still nerve wracking for Kyungsoo nonetheless. Jongin was, after all, incredibly sexy and adorable at the same time in his pyjamas; Kyungsoo’s mother probably knew that too, which was why they (sadly) slept in different rooms in the house.

But it was for the better, because who knew what Kyungsoo would do if he had to sleep beside Jongin in his black wife beaters and comfy sweats?

When Jongdae finally hung up on the phone, he cheered for Kyungsoo like a supportive father. “You really look great, Kyungsoo, I’m not even lying right now. It still looks like you but like, better, you know?” he gushed.

Kyungsoo chuckled and said, “Thanks for loaning me the outfit then. I just hope Jongin will like it.”

Jongdae looked at him coyly. “Oh, he will for sure. I doubt anyone wouldn’t like it,” and he gestured a hand towards Kyungsoo’s crotch area. He had no idea what Jongdae was talking about and felt like he didn’t want to know either.

-

Jongin came over while Kyungsoo and his friends were all tucking into the pizza in the kitchen to avoid leaving crumbs all over the house. He greeted Kyungsoo upon walking through the front door by kissing him soundly on the cheek, much to Kyungsoo’s embarrassment. Predictably enough, his friends hollered at the scene like something super erotic had just occurred.

“Hey guys,” Jongin smiled at them without missing a beat.

“What’s up, my man?!” Chanyeol growled, standing up and giving Jongin a loud high five before chest bumping him.

 _Bizarre_ , Kyungsoo thought, shaking his head while they exchanged a few words, team captain to another team captain.

“Oh, you’re staying the night?” Baekhyun asked, glancing at Jongin’s backpack.

“Yeah, didn’t I tell you?” Kyungsoo replied on his behalf. Baekhyun then narrowed his eyes with a knowing smile and held up his pizza, waving it around like some kind of magic wand. “No, you didn’t,” he sang.

“Sure, I did,” Kyungsoo lied blatantly and tugged at Jongin’s arm. “C’mon, you can put your things upstairs first before you eat.”

“Wait, let me just—” Jongin grabbed a slice of pizza and folded it in half, chomping on a big mouthful before he trailed after Kyungsoo upstairs to put his things down first. Kyungsoo was never going to live down the jokes and jabs his friends were probably going to make tonight.

Now that it was really happening, he realized that it was their first time they were going a party together in a group like this. Kyungsoo just hoped they would show him some mercy.

“You’re in the spare room again,” Kyungsoo said over his shoulder to Jongin. He nodded, chewing on his pizza. It was just beside Kyungsoo’s parents’ bedroom (for safety reasons, probably), and he opened the door to enter, revealing the plain room with a bed and a large closet against the wall.

It could pass for a hotel room; Kyungsoo’s mom was that passionate about making the spare room look as plain yet welcoming as possible. “Pillows are in the closet as usual, and I’ll get your blankets in a minute,” Kyungsoo said, helping Jongin with his backpack.

He placed it down and started to walk off, but not before Jongin snagged at his sleeve. Kyungsoo looked up at him questioningly.

“You seem frazzled,” Jongin remarked. Kyungsoo sent him a nervous smile.

“I am. Sort of,” Kyungsoo replied.

“Don’t be. It’s just a party, and I promise you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. And you look nice, Kyungsoo. I’ve never seen you wear this before,” Jongin held up Kyungsoo’s arm and gestured for him to do a twirl.

Because there was no one looking, Kyungsoo did it for Jongin, blushing to the very tip of his ears when Jongin whispered a quiet _wow_ under his breath. He couldn’t tell if he was just being nice or sarcastic, but it was embarrassing anyway. He felt like Jongin’s preteen younger sister or something.

“It’s Jongdae’s outfit,” Kyungsoo mumbled, avoiding Jongin’s gaze. He didn’t have to look up to know Jongin was smiling.

“Well, it looks great nonetheless. And I’m not just saying that because I’m supposed to,” Jongin said, pecking Kyungsoo’s cheek. Kyungsoo blinked when he felt something like a crumb sticking to his cheek, and Jongin brushed it away with a laugh. “Sorry,” he smiled. 

 _Oh God, you could murder a man and apologize with that smile and I’d still say it’s alright_ , Kyungsoo thought, blushing even further. Jongin needed to stop smiling all the time; it wasn’t healthy for Kyungsoo.

“Thanks,” Kyungsoo muttered. Their eyes met for a brief, almost heated moment. Despite everything that was going on, Kyungsoo was still glad to have Jongin here, all good looks and great hair. He was the golden boy, the star athlete, but to Kyungsoo he was more than those labels; Jongin was someone sincere, someone who treated Kyungsoo like he was worth something, and that was what made Kyungsoo’s heart ache every time he looked into his brown eyes.

Jongin leaned forward to kiss Kyungsoo abruptly, backing him up against the wall. He wasn’t rough with Kyungsoo, as always, but he kissed Kyungsoo like he wanted him, mouth moving boldly against Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo dug his fingers through Jongin’s soft hair, felt Jongin press up against his entire body. Jongin sucked at Kyungsoo’s upper lip gently, hands gripping Kyungsoo’s waist tightly. “I really missed you,” he whispered.

Kyungsoo just stood on his tip toes and kissed Jongin harder.

-

Kyungsoo should’ve known that something embarrassing was bound to happen when Like a G6 started throbbing through the speakers of Chanyeol’s car. Jongdae and Baekhyun started laughing at first, but then they started shouting along to the lyrics while leaning out of the car windows. Kyungsoo tried to pull Jongdae back in, but he wasn’t having it; he actually _wanted_ to risk his life out on the road to get pumped up.

Jongin however, was laughing at it all like it was the most hilarious thing he’d ever seen.

There were tears in his eyes when Chanyeol hit a hundred miles per hour and Baekhyun pretended to fight with the wind in his hair, while Kyungsoo just sat beside Jongin, Jongdae’s foot digging into his jeans every so often.

“Are you ready to _partyyy_?” Jongdae yelled when they drove past a group of kids around their age. They started cheering and jumping while walking; Kyungsoo began to doubt the sanity of everyone his age in town. It was just a Fucking Bonfire, what was with all the hype?

Very quickly, they started to pass more and more groups of kids walking by the road. Jongdae and Baekhyun yelled at all of them, and as trees began to emerge, cars lining both sides of the street, Kyungsoo guessed that they were probably close by. Most of the girls were in bikinis or some form of swimwear, and the guys were either dressed casually like Kyungsoo and his friends, or just went topless with some beach shorts.

Baekhyun had said that the bonfire was going to be near a quarry so that ‘if a fire breaks out, there’s a lot of water.’ Kyungsoo’s heart skipped a beat when Chanyeol slowed down, looking for a parking spot.

 _Party. People. Beer. People. Party._ That was all he could think of. People who were going to recognize Jongin, and therefore recognize him as well, tons of people from the looks of it.

What seemed like dozens of cars were jammed up on the grass dividing the trees from the road; it all made Kyungsoo feel sick.

“Hey, I think you guys can get down first. I’m gonna look for a parking spot and meet you guys later,” Chanyeol said from the front. “Okay,” Jongdae readily agreed, practically flinging the car door aside and leaping out happily.

Kyungsoo clambered out gingerly, sticking close to Jongin. The last thing Kyungsoo needed was to lose him the crowd; that was worse than being recognized with him.

Baekhyun chose to stay with Chanyeol in the car, so the three of them started to make their way to the quarry about a block away from where Chanyeol dropped them off. Since it was dark, no one could really recognize them yet but Jongdae couldn’t be trusted to keep his mouth shut, therefore attracting the attention of those who had just arrived as well.

“Jongdae, is that you? Shit, man, I almost couldn’t recognize your ugly mug in the dark,” someone joked loudly from across the street.

Kyungsoo squinted, and realized it was Ilhoon with his group of friends from his Social Sciences class. To say they were rowdy was an understatement.

“Ah, Ilhoon! You wanker, you need a punch to set your head straight or something?” Jongdae replied, grabbing him into a headlock. Ilhoon’s friends started laughing, and Kyungsoo tugged on Jongin’s hand to walk ahead.

“Leave him, he’ll be fine with them,” Kyungsoo whispered urgently. Jongin laughed, looking down at him.

“You don’t like those guys?” he asked.

“I don’t like what they can do when they’re sober, never mind when they wanna get drunk,” Kyungsoo said grimly. He’d seen Ilhoon and one of his cohorts, Eunkwang give a guy a wedgie before placing him neatly in the trash can; that was only one of their less elaborate pranks.

Jongin just laughed, drawing Kyungsoo closer. “Don’t worry, Kyungsoo, I won’t let anyone do anything to you,” he said. They turned a corner into some trees; Kyungsoo could already see people dancing and electro music playing.

“Honestly, I’m more worried about what they might do to ‘welcome’ you,” Kyungsoo replied.

They stumbled over some rocks and dry branches in the darkness for a few seconds, and the next thing Kyungsoo knew, the trees suddenly parted as if by magic. Jongin’s reply was lost, taken away by the pounding music that echoed throughout the area and bounced right back at them; it was a strange effect, as if the music had a heartbeat.

“Whoa,” Kyungsoo muttered under his breath, taking in the sight before him.

There was, as he had feared, a shit ton of people. Most of them were from school, and some he didn’t recognize. Many were dancing on the rocky ground (quite a feat, in Kyungsoo’s opinion), though there were small groups of people just seated on the ground or on boulders, smoking or drinking. Or both.

Needless to say, it was unnerving to be there. What the fuck was Kyungsoo supposed to do? He couldn’t dance, didn’t smoke, and had never so much as sipped a drop of alcohol before.

A group of giggling girls brushed past them, scampering towards their left. Kyungsoo’s gaze followed them and he spotted a cliff some distance away, no higher than twenty feet or so. The girls joined a line of people who wanted to dive into the quarry, joining those who were already frolicking about in the water. On their far right, Kyungsoo could see the Fucking Bonfire blazing merrily away, and were those the boys on the football team dancing like Red Indians around the fire?

 _Good Lord_ , Kyungsoo thought. This was undoubtedly wilder than he ever thought it’d be. “Damn,” Jongin whistled, low under his breath as he looked around as well. Kyungsoo grimaced beside him, holding his wrist.

“So. What do you wanna do?” Kyungsoo asked. Perhaps Jongin would be better at this than he was. _Maybe I should take notes too_ , Kyungsoo thought a little grimly. Who knew if this was going to be a norm soon?

Jongin shrugged, casually waving at a few people. “We could go around and say hi first. I haven’t seen some people in a while. Do you want a beer?” he asked Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo looked at him uncertainly. “I’ve never drank beer before,” he replied. Jongin looked surprised at that and blinked curiously. Kyungsoo felt the tips of his ears go red with embarrassment before Jongin even spoke.

“Never?”

“Never,” Kyungsoo shook his head in affirmation.

Jongin smiled. “It’s okay. You don’t need to drink here anyway, everyone’s drunk enough as it is for the both of us…” They began to walk towards the bonfire where everything seemed to start, and that was when people really started to recognize Jongin by the firelight.

Some girls gasped unashamedly, then reeled back just a tiny bit when they spotted Kyungsoo holding onto Jongin’s arm. He tried not to wince at their reactions, keeping his eyes down as Jongin approached a few people.

“Mark, Jackson…” Jongin smiled at two boys Kyungsoo didn’t recognize. They did the fist bump thingy and exchanged a few words.

Kyungsoo lost interest in the conversation quickly when the subject turned to football.

He was just looking around to see if Baekhyun was already there yet when Jongin tapped his arm gently and said in his ear, “Kyungsoo, do you mind introducing yourself to my friends?” He turned his attention back on the boys before him quickly, face turning red again.

“H-Hi,” Kyungsoo stammered, and Jackson (or Mark, he couldn’t really tell the difference between the two) reached out to shake his hand. He had a placid, friendly smile and looked like the sort of guy who could charm his way into a girl’s heart.

“I’m Kyungsoo,” Kyungsoo said in a very solemn voice.

“My boyfriend,” Jongin tacked on at the end of his introduction with a smile.

“What’s up?” Jackson asked. Kyungsoo nodded once at him like a police officer (he was already cringing at himself) and looked at the other guy (skinnier, with a pretty face that could rival Luhan). The second boy shoved a beer into his hand before anything else and then patted it, saying, “I’m Mark. Heard a lot of great things about you.”

Kyungsoo’s first thought was _what_ and then _since when did people from other schools recognize me?_ He felt Jongin place a hand on his back, almost like a reminder, and he gathered himself quickly.

“O-Oh?” he replied eloquently. They both cracked up at that, and to Kyungsoo’s horror, Jongin joined in as well.

He didn’t laugh as hard as they did but he certainly was chuckling. _That’s minus two candy points from you_ , Kyungsoo thought, looking up at his boyfriend. But maybe it was a good thing. Then he wouldn’t be so fucking perfect all the time.

“He _is_ cute,” Jackson said, still laughing. Kyungsoo continued to look at Jongin accusingly. “I think you both will get along just fine,” Mark added, practically falling over himself. Kyungsoo wanted to knock all three of their heads together because what the actual fuck guys?

Jongin finally glanced over at Kyungsoo somewhat apologetically. “Alright, alright, settle down, guys. I’m gonna go say hi to the rest of the people here now,” he said, and began to lead Kyungsoo away from them. He sighed inwardly in relief as Mark and Jackson waved them goodbye, too breathless to do anything else. Kyungsoo didn’t quite get why they were laughing but was glad that Jongin had the decency to be embarrassed.

“You’re not mad at me, are you?” Jongin asked when they were out of earshot. Kyungsoo shook his head, holding his beer can stiffly.

“Why would I be? Let’s meet more people,” Kyungsoo replied, smiling at Jongin so brightly that he laughed into Kyungsoo’s shoulder and ruffled his hair.

“We can have some alone time in a minute, I promise. It’s just that I can’t just ignore everyone and just…” Kyungsoo waved Jongin away impatiently. He did, after all, sign up for this voluntarily (though he was under the influence of Baekhyun and Jongdae at the time).

“It’s alright, Jongin. Just take your time,” he smiled at Jongin.

A minute stretched out into an hour of walking around, maneuvering past dancing, sweaty bodies and obnoxious groups laughing at some obnoxious joke. Kyungsoo met a lot of people, more than he ever thought he would in this lifetime. He tried remembering everyone, but soon it became impossible and he just nodded at most of them, pulling a smile if they weren’t too weird for him.

And a big majority of the people were actually rather nice, though he caught most of them sizing him up or checking him out, as if to confirm that he and Jongin were in fact, a couple.

Kyungsoo felt like saying to all of them, ‘I know, I can’t believe I’m dating him too.’ After all, he couldn’t even hold a candle to Jongin, let alone look like he belonged by his side.

When it seemed like they had greeted pretty much everyone at the party, Kyungsoo’s throat was dry. They slowly wandered off away from the crowd to a spot with only a handful of people just getting high quietly and smiling up at the sky. This was more of Kyungsoo’s thing when it came to parties.

He sat down on an unoccupied boulder while Jongin went off to find something non-alcoholic, wondering if his friends were ever going to show up. Kyungsoo thought he’d caught sight of Jongdae taking a plunge in the quarry but he wasn’t quite sure. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were nowhere to be seen, though Kyungsoo doubted that they were lost or anything like that. With a wild party like this going on, Baekhyun wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Jongin returned after a few minutes, holding a can of iced tea. He exchanged drinks with Kyungsoo, opening up the already lukewarm beer. “Here, sit with me,” Kyungsoo patted the boulder.

“No, you get up and sit on my lap instead,” Jongin said, gesturing for Kyungsoo to stand.

Kyungsoo lifted an eyebrow, swallowing a mouthful of iced tea. “Are you coming onto me?” he asked in amusement.

“Yes, I am,” Jongin replied decisively. And because no one was around, Kyungsoo got up without making a fuss and sat on Jongin’s lap carefully, making sure he wasn’t sitting too close to his— Kyungsoo blushed— crotch area. Jongin seemed oblivious, and placed a hand on Kyungsoo’s waist to balance him carefully. Kyungsoo wasn’t sure if he ever felt this scandalized in his entire life.

“Do you wanna leave after we finish our drinks?” Jongin asked, sipping his beer.

“What? No, we can’t leave so early,” Kyungsoo replied, alarmed. Jongin quirked an eyebrow at him.

“But I thought you didn’t like parties,” he said over the rim of his beer can. Kyungsoo sighed and laughed at the same time, throwing an arm over Jongin’s shoulders to look at him properly. Jongin chuckled at the same time, blinking expectantly at him.

A crash through the trees cut Kyungsoo’s reply off abruptly. They stopped and stared in the general direction of the noise (it was rather dark near the trees) before something moved. A head suddenly popped up from a shrub, and Kyungsoo could recognize that face anywhere.

“ _Luhan_?” Kyungsoo said in disbelief.

“Oh hey, guys,” he smiled, leaves in his hair. More movement, and Sehun emerged from beside him, looking pleasantly drunk. “We were just uh… looking for Sehun’s contact lenses,” Luhan said sweetly.

 _Sure, they are_ , Kyungsoo smirked, spotting what looked like a pile of clothes a few feet away from the shrub they were hiding in.

Searching for contact lenses in the dark with no torch and no clothes on; it made perfect sense. Rolling his eyes, Kyungsoo settled back into Jongin’s lap while they got up from behind the shrub. Sehun’s chest was bare, and Luhan had to pick his shirt up for him from somewhere on the ground.

Kyungsoo didn’t know if he was supposed to laugh or offer a hand.

“’ave a gud day, yeah?” Luhan said to them in a Scottish accent when they didn’t look so much like a haphazard mess. Luhan took Kyungsoo’s can of iced tea as he walked past them, and Sehun scurried after him.

Jongin and Kyungsoo stared for a second or two, and then looked at one another.

“That was kinda cute, don’t you think?” Jongin asked offhandedly. Kyungsoo made a noise in his throat and dropped his hand into his own lap, pretending to look away. Jongin sipped at his beer once more, and Kyungsoo hummed tunelessly to himself.

“So, as you were saying…” Jongin cajoled Kyungsoo after a beat.

“Ah. Yeah, no, I don’t think we should leave so early. It’d be weird if you did, right? And you did come all the way down here, so we might as well just stay till whenever,” Kyungsoo shrugged. Jongin wrapped his hands around Kyungsoo’s waist and smiled up at him sweetly, the kind of smile that made Kyungsoo feel like punching himself.

“To be honest, I’m surprised that you’re not complaining so far. I know how much it takes for you to come out like this with me…”

Kyungsoo leaned on Jongin’s head, pretending he wasn’t taking a whiff of Jongin’s scent. He smelled cute and irresistible, something Kyungsoo wasn’t quite used to yet. How could someone look this hot and be such a flower child inside?

“I’d go to ten parties with you if you needed me to,” Kyungsoo whispered, mouth twitching into a smile.

Jongin had a smile of his own as he placed the beer down somewhere behind Kyungsoo. “How comforting,” he said, tugging Kyungsoo closer. For once, Kyungsoo didn’t feel too self-conscious to be this close to Jongin in public. Maybe it was because there wasn’t anyone paying attention to them and it didn’t feel quite as _public_ as it did if they were at a park or by the street.

“And if I were to say I have my sister’s wedding invitation card with your name on it in my backpack at your place, would you RSVP back with a yes?” Jongin asked in a low voice.

“I thought you said her wedding was next year,” Kyungsoo murmured.

“It is. So there should be plenty of time for us to practice attending parties, right?” Kyungsoo didn’t answer him, his face inches away from Jongin’s lips. Jongin brushed hair away from Kyungsoo’s face, gaze heavy with intent. He wanted to kiss Jongin so badly, wondered if Jongin was feeling the same.

Kyungsoo began to lean forward first, placing a kiss on Jongin rather clumsily. Jongin didn’t seem to mind, hands going up to Kyungsoo’s ribs and digging in gently as he kissed him back. Kyungsoo could taste the beer on his breath and made an embarrassingly wet noise when he slipped his tongue in. Suddenly, being at the party for an appropriate length of time didn’t seem to matter.

Kyungsoo felt the weight of Jongin’s hands on him as they kissed almost languidly for what felt like hours. It felt _right_ for Kyungsoo to just be there with Jongin, sitting on his thighs and digging his fingers into Jongin’s soft hair.

“Are you sure you don’t want to head back?” Jongin asked once more between kisses. Kyungsoo could hear his unspoken question and trembled slightly.

He wanted to get away from the party, yes, but he didn’t know if Jongin meant to continue this at home. And if they were to continue this, did it mean he wanted to get to third base with Kyungsoo tonight?

“You better,” a voice suddenly answered Kyungsoo’s question jeeringly, and Kyungsoo gave a small shriek, almost toppling off Jongin’s lap. He caught Kyungsoo just in time before he tumbled down and Kyungsoo looked up to find Baekhyun and Jongdae waggling their eyebrows at them.

“How long have you two been there?” Kyungsoo shouted, more out of embarrassment than surprise. Jongin’s face was redder than it had ever been; he couldn’t even look at Kyungsoo’s friends.

“Oh, we’ve been here long enough,” Jongdae informed him, “and just in case you need a second opinion, we both think that you guys should head home to get on with the program,” he gestured rudely with his fingers. Kyungsoo got off Jongin’s lap, ready to murder his friends once and for all.

“Jongdae.”

They giggled hysterically at the threat in Kyungsoo’s voice and stumbled backwards. “We’ll go, we’ll go,” Baekhyun held up his hands in surrender. Kyungsoo’s expression darkened, and they started to run away (but not fast enough in Kyungsoo’s opinion). Behind him, Jongin was already laughing with his mouth covered.

“They’re so supportive of you,” he said fondly, when Kyungsoo turned around. “Yeah, for all the wrong reasons,” Kyungsoo glowered.

Jongin just stood up and pecked a kiss on Kyungsoo’s forehead.

“Don’t be mad at them,” he squeezed Kyungsoo’s hand, “if anything, I’m kind of grateful that they’re so supportive. Otherwise, you’d probably already be running for the hills from me and this party.”

Kyungsoo looked away; he didn’t know what to say to that. He’d never leave Jongin under any circumstances, and he couldn’t find the words to explain that he was the lucky one between them to have Jongin instead of the other way around as Jongin seemed to imply. 

“You know, maybe we _should_ go home,” Kyungsoo said, voice shaking. Surprised, Jongin cocked his head to one side.

“Really?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo said. He stepped forward for one last kiss, a hard one. It was an impulse decision, and he hoped Jongin could hear what he _wasn’t_ saying.

-

The minute Minseok’s car drove off, Kyungsoo tangled his fingers into Jongin’s shirt and pulled him into another kiss roughly. Jongin was understandably surprised, Kyungsoo could tell from the way he didn’t react immediately. But he wrapped his arms around Kyungsoo easily after a brief moment of hesitation, lifting Kyungsoo up a little.

Kyungsoo stood on his tiptoes to continue kissing him, dimly noting that the moon was hanging up in the sky and Jongin probably looked like magic, just like that first time he walked Kyungsoo home.

He was just about to kiss a trail down to Jongin’s neck when Jongin broke away and held him at arm’s length, looking at him breathlessly with his swollen lips and messy hair. “K-Kyungsoo, what are you doing?” he asked, even though it was clear what Kyungsoo wanted to do.

“I want you,” Kyungsoo mumbled, trying not to look at Jongin in the eye. If he did, then he’d lose his nerve and Jongin would melt his resolve by asking him more questions to which he couldn’t answer.

“No, I mean— I can tell but why?” Jongin said, holding Kyungsoo gently. They had been silent when they made their way home from the party, hitching a ride from Minseok who was driving back to town to buy more beer for everyone. Kyungsoo could barely breathe a word to Jongin, and it was painfully awkward throughout the fifteen minutes they spent in the car.

He shrugged at Jongin. “Just because, Jongin. I love you, and you’re beautiful at night,” Kyungsoo mumbled. Jongin smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He still looked confused.

“Kyungsoo, you do know that when you’re bothered by something it practically emanates from you like radiation? You’re never this… this _rash_ , so just tell me what’s up. I don’t want to end up doing something that you might regret in the morning,” Jongin said softly, placing his hands on Kyungsoo’s shoulders.

He felt like a child now, chastised by his parents for his errant behavior. But Kyungsoo didn’t want to feel like a child, he wanted to feel like he was being a good boyfriend for once in his relationship, as pathetic as that was. And Jongin really did look beautiful under the moonlight, pink hair shimmering a dull silver and shadows cast over the angles of his pretty face; how someone this perfect could belong to him, Kyungsoo would never know. 

“I just love you, Jongin, I really do. You’ve never pushed me for anything, ever, and I realize that I’ve been so demanding and you constantly have to meet my needs all the time instead _us_ trying to meet each other’s needs—”

“I don’t think you demand for too much,” Jongin lifted an eyebrow.

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. “Of course you don’t, you’re sweet that way. And stupid,” he added without malice, unable to help himself. Jongin laughed, holding Kyungsoo’s face upwards gently.

“So how has that got to do with any of this… promiscuous behavior from you all of a sudden?”

Kyungsoo looked at him blankly. “Don’t you want to get promiscuous with me? After all, it’s Fucking Bonfire night and my mom is,” he glanced at the house, “ _probably_ asleep, but if she hears us then we would know for sure.” Jongin couldn’t help it and laughed some more at Kyungsoo, his laughter tumbling out of his mouth naturally; it was a nice sound, one that Kyungsoo loved to hear.

“I don’t want to get promiscuous with you if it’s just going to be your strange way of returning me a favor which, incidentally enough, is unnecessary since I’m the one choosing to date you and court you and all that.”

“Court me—” Kyungsoo chortled.

“Yes, court,” Jongin smiled, and wrapped his arms around Kyungsoo once more in a warm cocoon. He placed his forehead on Kyungsoo and continued softly, “I love you too, Kyungsoo. Which is exactly why I’m going to have to,” he sniffled, “refuse your offer. It’s not that I don’t want you—”

“Feels like it,” Kyungsoo muttered, managing to get his hands around Jongin’s waist and resting his hands on his hips.

Jongin went on despite the interruption, “It’s not that I don’t want you, at all. In fact, I want you enough to wait till we um,” he shrugged, “maybe get married one day.”

“Don’t talk about marriage with me if you’re not going to _fuck me_ —” Kyungsoo snarled and Jongin shushed him before he could finish his sentence.

“Careful what you say. Don’t want your mom to wake up and hear what we’re up to,” Jongin smiled down at him. Kyungsoo moaned incoherently, dropping his head on Jongin’s chest.

“Just say you don’t want to have sex with me tonight and be done with it, Jongin, Jesus, the suspense is killing me,” Kyungsoo complained.

“First of all, Jesus doesn’t have sex with just anyone,” Jongin said in a very matter-of-fact tone. Kyungsoo snorted, then laughed under his breath despite the way he was feeling. Only Jongin could make him at a stupid joke like that; if Chanyeol or Baekhyun had been the one telling Kyungsoo that joke, they would’ve already been thrown to the road and left for dead.

“Secondly,” Jongin squared his shoulders and planted a firm kiss on Kyungsoo’s open mouth. Kyungsoo made a surprised noise and he scrambled to grip Jongin tightly as he felt his head spinning.

“Secondly,” Jongin repeated when he broke off momentarily. Kyungsoo felt too dazed to protest, “this isn’t something that we should be joking around with,” he said solemnly. Kyungsoo felt compelled to point out that he was the one making bad jokes here but Jongin stopped him with a finger on his lips.

“If we do get around to doing this, I want it to be something special, Kyungsoo. _You_ are special to me, and important, so I really want to do it right with you.”

“You’d be doing right in my books if you picked me up like a princess and barged into my house like a Viking,” Kyungsoo pointed out, speech a little muffled through Jongin’s finger. Jongin looked pained.

“…No. You’d regret it.”

“Shut up. I won’t, Jongin,” Kyungsoo said firmly, taking his face in his hands and pulling him down a little so they were almost at the same level. “I want you now and yes, granted, I haven’t thought about this for very long, but,” he shrugged, “it’s you, Jongin. I trust you. I know that you would be careful with me and you’d never hurt me.” He kissed him gently for emphasis.

Jongin kissed him back, holding Kyungsoo close. He could feel Jongin’s heart thudding in his chest and wondered if it was a sign that Kyungsoo had swayed him to his side.

 “Wait, so what you’re saying now,” Jongin broke off, “is that you want me to— to have sex with you. Am I right?” Kyungsoo nodded.

What else could he be talking about? World domination? Actually, that wasn’t a bad idea entirely…

Jongin sighed then, a big exhale of air like he’d been holding himself back all this time. Kyungsoo blinked at him questioningly. “Good. Because all I’ve been thinking about tonight is how you look in those jeans and I couldn’t say anything in case you thought I was some kind of perv—”

“Oh, Jongin,” Kyungsoo sighed, bopping him on the nose. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more in love with you than at this very moment.”

No sooner had those words left his mouth than Jongin picked him up in his arms, making Kyungsoo squeal loudly. Jongin lifted him up like he weighed nothing, hands tucked under Kyungsoo’s arm and knees. A dog barked somewhere in the distance and Kyungsoo broke off to laugh into Jongin’s neck, holding onto him tightly.  

“I can’t believe you right now,” he whispered, voice tinged in amusement. Jongin nuzzled him back gently with a soft smile on his lips.

At the door, Kyungsoo dug out his keys with some difficulty and unlocked the door. It wasn’t too late yet, just past one a.m. so his mother didn’t come running down the stairs to make sure they were alright. Instead, the house was silent as Kyungsoo held down a fit of giggles while he locked the door with one hand and held onto Jongin when he swept them upstairs.

His heart started beating irregularly when Kyungsoo caught sight of his bed. Jongin placed him down upon the edge of the bed gently, like he was infinitely precious and Kyungsoo couldn’t resist giving him a small, shy kiss on the corner of his mouth. Jongin smiled into the kiss as if he knew what Kyungsoo was thinking; Kyungsoo blushed furiously.

Going down to his knees on the ground, Jongin pulled back and asked softly, “Do you want me to turn on the lights?”

“W-what?” Kyungsoo stammered, grabbing at Jongin’s hands unconsciously to keep him from moving away. There wasn’t much light in the room besides the moonlight coming from Kyungsoo’s window, but turning on the lights sounded pretty intimidating. As much as he wanted this, he didn’t exactly have a bod that he was proud to flaunt ( _like Baekhyun, but no don’t think about him right now_ , Kyungsoo told himself).

“It’s alright,” Jongin soothed Kyungsoo with a hand on his thigh. “I won’t do anything you don’t want me to. We’ll just take it slow, alright?” Jongin said, and Kyungsoo took comfort in that.

He nodded and looked around hesitantly, unsure of what to do next. “I um, I don’t know how to say this, but we don’t have lube here,” Kyungsoo said, his voice loud in the thick silence. He winced at that, feeling terribly embarrassed. Obviously, he didn’t quite think this through.

Jongin pondered for a few seconds, then said, “Do you have Vaseline, maybe?”

“Oh yeah, my mom has that in the bathroom,” Kyungsoo replied, and Jongin nodded. He got up and left the room to get the Vaseline, thus leaving Kyungsoo feeling rather awkward on the bed. He quickly scrambled up to his pillows and kicked off his shoes, trying to look as appealing (and maybe seductive) as possible.

Kyungsoo hoped he really did look nice in Jongdae’s outfit; it wouldn’t do if he didn’t somehow look inviting enough.

When Jongin came back, Kyungsoo glanced at his hands and saw nothing. “So I found it, but when I checked there was only very little left in the jar. I think your mom might guess what we’re up to if we did use it…” Jongin said apologetically. “Shit,” Kyungsoo muttered, feeling his face go red again.

“Well, maybe I have something we could use. Lotion, maybe? Or like— I dunno,” Kyungsoo moved to his dresser by the side of the bed and opened the drawer; that was where he usually kept his lotions and whatnot in case his skin was too dry at night.

“I don’t think we should use lotion. Some people actually get infections from that if their skin is too sensitive,” Jongin grimaced, and came over to help Kyungsoo. He was rummaging through the drawer in the dark hurriedly, feeling panicky as each second passed.

How the hell were they supposed to get it done if they didn’t have lube in the first place? _Oh God, what if Jongin never wants to have sex with me ever again?_ Kyungsoo thought.

Just as he was starting to get desperate, Kyungsoo spotted something long and thin and unfamiliar in his drawer. He frowned, and picked the item up, looking at it. Jongin stared at the thing as well; it looked like one of those little, rub-on bottles of scented oil except this was double its length, and it had a normal cover on top.

There was a note taped to the side of the bottle and he squinted in the dark to read the tiny handwriting on it:

_‘In case of a horny emergency, courtesy of Byun Baekhyun (but sponsored by Jongdae). Tell us allllll about it in the morning ;) ♥’_

“That motherfucker—” Kyungsoo said loudly without thinking; Jongin slapped a hand over his mouth and widened his eyes, looking between Kyungsoo and the door frantically. Jongin placed a finger over his lips, giving Kyungsoo a stern look.

“’M sorry,” Kyungsoo mumbled. There was a creak from the end of the hallway, from the direction of Kyungsoo’s parents’ bedroom, and he placed his hands behind his back just in case. A moment of tense silence before, “Kyungsoo, is that you?” his mother called, voice weary with sleep.

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo pushed Jongin’s hand off to reply. “Gonna hit the sheets now,” he added, then cringed because it sounded so wrong.

“Alright. Good night,” she replied, sounding relieved, then padded back into her room. They waited till her door clicked closed before Jongin looked down at Kyungsoo and said in a voice pitched low, “That’s lube, right?”

“I guess it is,” Kyungsoo shrugged, “doesn’t look like the ones you see in the pharmacy though.” He brought it forth, and Jongin took it from him.

“Isn’t it yours? Did you order it online?” Jongin replied. Kyungsoo went red in the face (thank God it was dark); he didn’t know if he was more horrified over the fact that Jongin knew where one needed to purchase this sort of thing or the fact that Baekhyun actually had the audacity to order it (and leave it for him, no less).

“N-No, Jesus no, I didn’t order that! Baekhyun did,” Kyungsoo said, then pointed at the note on the side of the bottle. Jongin looked at him as if he didn’t quite believe it, then bit his lip as he read the note.

“Ah,” Jongin lifted his eyebrows when he was done reading the tiny handwriting.

“Yes… I’m not that prepared for this, alright?” Kyungsoo said, somewhat affronted. Jongin smiled, returning his gaze back to him.

“That’s okay. At least we have all that we need now,” Jongin said. Kyungsoo caught the sudden, sly glint in Jongin’s eye; that was the only warning before he moved forward to tackle Kyungsoo noiselessly on the bed. Kyungsoo went _oomph_ embarrassingly as Jongin began to kiss him, hands going up to his sides.

Kyungsoo ran his own hands over the smooth expanse of Jongin’s back, moving his legs apart for Jongin to lean closer. It was easy to fall into the kiss, tasting, nibbling and sucking on Jongin’s lips; he felt like nothing could be of importance, as long Jongin could just stay this way with him forever. Kissing Jongin came naturally, felt like welcoming spring after a long winter.

It didn’t take much for Kyungsoo to get hard in his pants; he was more than half hard by the time Jongin began to kiss a trail down his neck and sucked gently at the juncture where his neck and shoulder met.

From the way Jongin leaned on him, it was just the right amount of pressure and friction on his cock. Kyungsoo felt Jongin’s teeth dig deep into his flesh and he cried out softly, toes curling from the pain and pleasure. Jongin let off at Kyungsoo’s cry, kissed the bitten spot reverently to take some of the pain away. He met Kyungsoo’s gaze and brushed a hand down his cheek.  

“You sure you want this?” he asked. Kyungsoo nodded frantically.

Jongin bit his lip, then moved away from Kyungsoo. At first, Kyungsoo didn’t know what he was doing, but then Jongin’s shirt flew to one corner of his room and he thought _oh, we really are going to do this_.

He started with his own jeans first, unbuttoning it because it was so tight now that he was well on his way to being fully hard. As embarrassing as it was, he didn’t want to Jongin to see him naked but he did want to feel his hands all over him, everywhere and anywhere, just so he could feel like he truly belonged to Jongin. And in a way, this was how Kyungsoo could tie himself irrevocably to him; Jongin would be his first, and if fate was kind, his last.

Jongin was looking around for the lube bottle that he had dropped when he noticed Kyungsoo struggling with his jeans.

His eyes were dark with desire as he placed his hands over Kyungsoo’s shaky ones gently waiting for Kyungsoo to nod. Then he began to pull gently, revealing Kyungsoo’s bare legs underneath inch by inch.

Kyungsoo searched Jongin’s face carefully, watching him swallow thickly as the rest of his jeans came off. Was that a good sign? He couldn’t tell.

Jongin placed the jeans aside once they were off and came closer to Kyungsoo, looking like he didn’t know what to do with his hands. Kyungsoo reached out and took his rough hands, placing them decisively on his hips.

“Help me, please,” he said quietly. Kyungsoo sounded wrecked to his own ears, and they’d barely even started.

Obeying immediately, Jongin helped Kyungsoo to pull off the tee, long sleeves and all. He couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off Kyungsoo, which was unnerving because he couldn’t tell if Jongin liked what he was seeing. Kyungsoo for one, knew that Jongin’s body was just gorgeous beyond compare, all tanned skin and lean muscle, but he had the overwhelming urge to hide himself despite the fact that he still wanted to admire Jongin.

Hoping he could distract Jongin, Kyungsoo whispered, “Um, can I…?” as he held out his hands out towards the button on Jongin’s jeans. Jongin glanced down and swallowed thickly, nodding.

His fingers trembled slightly as he fumbled at the button on Jongin’s jeans, trying very hard not to brush up against anything. Undressing someone else felt totally foreign to Kyungsoo; it was like taking off his own clothes except this wasn’t his own body and it was a completely different view.

When Jongin’s boxers came into view, Kyungsoo tried his best not to cringe. But it wasn’t because he didn’t want to see; he was just a tiny bit scared of what _it_ might look like.

He’d never seen dicks before (besides his own, obviously) since he wasn’t into porn and wasn’t sure what to expect. Would Jongin be super huge or tiny or really long or really thick—

“You’re going way too slow,” Jongin said a little grumpily, staring down at Kyungsoo. He stuttered incoherently, looking up at Jongin.

“R-right. Sorry,” he mumbled, then took a deep breath before he pulled everything down at once. Kyungsoo was grateful for the dark; he hardly saw anything at all besides the silhouette of Jongin’s cock (he wasn’t small, that was for sure). He gave a small garbled cry and sat up quickly, turning around on his bed.

Jongin was bewildered by Kyungsoo’s actions and said in confusion, “Kyungsoo? Are you pulling out of this?”

“No,” he replied, pushing down his own boxers hurriedly. His cock came free, and he blushed at the thought of revealing his butt to Jongin. Well, certainly it wouldn’t be as embarrassing as facing him now at this point—

Jongin placed a hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder and flipped him over, pushing him down onto the pillows. Kyungsoo tried desperately not to look at his nether regions, shutting his eyes and flailing wildly, but Jongin soon had his arms pinned down. Kyungsoo could feel Jongin sitting over him and oh God, _was that his cock brushing his thigh?_

_Oh, for the love of God and the Virgin Mary—_

“Open your eyes, Kyungsoo. Please,” Jongin said rather sternly. Kyungsoo cracked an eye open, keeping his gaze fixed determinedly on Jongin’s face in the half darkness.

“Are you actually going to be shy like this the entire time?” Jongin asked.

“I wouldn’t call it shy—”

“A prude, then.”

Kyungsoo blushed. “I’m not a prude if I want to sleep with you, Jesus—” Jongin swooped down to kiss Kyungsoo on the mouth, sucking on his tongue as if to prove a point. But damn, Jongin did have such a way with his tongue and mouth; God only knew what he could do on other parts of Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo’s cock twitched slightly at that.

“I want to see you, Kyungsoo,” Jongin said sloppily, licking Kyungsoo’s bottom lip, “and I want you to see me too. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t waiting for this night…” Jongin sucked at a spot below Kyungsoo’s ear, earning a high pitched keen from Kyungsoo. 

“Quiet, or your mom will come in and see us like this,” Jongin said huskily in Kyungsoo’s ear. Kyungsoo made a conscious effort not to make any noises, though he wished Jongin wasn’t so close to him. It was different without any clothes between them, just skin to skin with Jongin’s hot breath fanning over Kyungsoo. He kissed Jongin back when his mouth returned, trying to lean forward as far as he could with Jongin pinning him down.

The kiss was sadly short-lived; Jongin broke off after about five seconds and pulled back, his eyes raking the sight of Kyungsoo’s nude body like it was the most fascinating thing he’d ever seen. He sent Kyungsoo a warning look briefly as he took his hands away, dragging them down Kyungsoo’s arms and chest, thumbs flicking over his nipples.

Kyungsoo arched into his touch almost at once, hissing at the sensation of Jongin tugging ever so gently on his nipples. “A-ah,” Kyungsoo gasped, trying to keep his voice low.

“You’re beautiful, Kyungsoo,” Jongin whispered, ghosting his fingertips over Kyungsoo’s nipples. Kyungsoo blushed at that, blushed even more when Jongin’s hands continued their way down south. He tickled Kyungsoo’s belly button for a brief moment, causing Kyungsoo to squirm; Jongin moved on before Kyungsoo do anything else, and the next thing Kyungsoo knew Jongin was fisting his cock in his hand.

Kyungsoo moaned under his breath, shutting his eyes tightly as Jongin pumped him once, twice because fuck, this was different and he could never be prepared with the way Jongin jerked him off gently. This was by far a thousand times better than touching himself.

When Jongin’s fingers dipped low to cup Kyungsoo’s balls in his hand, Kyungsoo gasped again, wincing at the strange but pleasurable sensation of Jongin fondling him down there. It felt weird but at the same time his toes curled into the mattress from the way Jongin fingered him, nails dragging the fragile skin of Kyungsoo’s balls. Kyungsoo had to bite down on a loud curse as Jongin’s skilled fingers continued to tease him relentlessly, not enough to take him to the next level but enough that it made Kyungsoo desperate for more.

“You’re so sensitive, Kyungsoo. Next time I’ll let you scream for me, and then we’ll see for sure how sensitive you really are,” Jongin smiled, and Kyungsoo’s breath hitched in his throat because there would be a next time, another round of all this breathlessness and aching pleasure.

Just as Kyungsoo thought he was going to die of sexual frustration, Jongin released his hold on Kyungsoo’s cock and began to shift his body downwards. Kyungsoo frowned, grabbing at Jongin’s shoulders.

“Where, what—”

“Relax, Kyungsoo. Just lay back and enjoy yourself,” Jongin grinned, mouth coming dangerously close to Kyungsoo’s cock.

Kyungsoo’s cheeks burned as he looked away, almost afraid of how it was going to feel. Now that Jongin had him hyper sensitive for his every touch, Kyungsoo was certain he’d come quickly if Jongin sucked him off, and he didn’t want to come, not yet.

He wanted to come after or at the same time as Jongin, otherwise it wouldn’t be fair at all. As Kyungsoo busied himself with his thoughts, Jongin spread his legs carefully. He almost didn’t realize what Jongin was doing till he planted his lips right beside Kyungsoo’s cock, sucking hard on the tender spot.

Gasping for air, Kyungsoo felt electric race up to his head and blood rushing right down to his cock, his hands going to dig into Jongin’s hair. “S-shit,” Kyungsoo muttered, eyes fluttering shut. Jongin pressed his hands over his inner thighs, keeping them firmly spread apart so Kyungsoo couldn’t squirm the way he wanted to. It was loud, every suck and every wet kiss Jongin placed upon Kyungsoo’s thighs; Kyungsoo found it almost embarrassing but he had no real chance to dwell on it. Jongin was too much of a distraction to think of anything else.

After peppering small, purplish marks that made Kyungsoo’s legs ache deliciously, Jongin began to move upwards once more, crawling up to hover just above Kyungsoo. By now, Kyungsoo was flustered and sweating on his sheets, trying to see straight.

All he could see and feel was Jongin, Jongin everywhere and all over him. He felt positively delirious from all the sensations he was feeling with only Jongin to anchor him to reality. “You okay?” Jongin asked, pressing a kiss to his jaw.  

Kyungsoo nodded; he was more than okay. Jongin seemed satisfied with his answer and began to fumble around on the bed with his hands. It took a moment for Kyungsoo to realize he was searching for the lube, and he inhaled sharply, everything piecing together into stark clarity. _This is... really it,_ Kyungsoo, the finality of it all sinking in.

His heart rate began to pick up and Kyungsoo adjusted himself as Jongin started on the prep, coating his fingers with the lube.

Kyungsoo laid against the headboard of his bed carefully with Jongin still settled between his legs. That was when Kyungsoo spared himself a glance at Jongin’s crotch and a lump lodged itself in Kyungsoo’s throat. He could say for sure that he did not hate what he was seeing at all; nope, any doubts and preconceptions were out of the window now. Kyungsoo wanted to feel Jongin inside him right this second.

“Tell me if anything hurts, okay?” Jongin said, furrowing his eyebrows together at Kyungsoo. “Okay,” Kyungsoo replied shakily, bringing his knees up. Jongin smiled briefly, rubbing his free hand down Kyungsoo’s leg.

“Just relax. It’ll be better for you that way,” Jongin murmured. He began to lower his hand down to Kyungsoo’s entrance, taking a deep breath of his own.

Kyungsoo waited patiently, eyes at half-mast as he felt the cold lube smearing close to his entrance before Jongin’s fingers pushed in slowly. Kyungsoo jolted at first, tensing up on Jongin’s fingertips but he forced himself to relax, feeling them slip in. It was strange but in a good way, and he was conscious of the way it felt to have something inside him. Jongin was breathing hard too, pushing his fingers all the way in.

“Okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo sighed, biting down on his lower lip. Jongin then moved his fingers out slowly, curling them slightly. Kyungsoo felt it at once and gasped, holding onto Jongin’s arm.

“Fuck, Jongin, I—”

“Did you like it?” Jongin offered. Kyungsoo nodded and winced, not out of pain but from desire.

“Do it again, please,” Kyungsoo whispered, and Jongin did, pushing in and curling his fingers there. Kyungsoo didn’t know why but he fucking loved it and panted as Jongin picked up speed and did it over and over again, stretching Kyungsoo open. It stung a bit, but Kyungsoo could take it; he liked the way it felt, the slight burn of the stretch.

“I’m putting another finger in,” Jongin informed him. Kyungsoo held back a moan and leaned further back just a few inches, allowing Jongin more space to move his hand around. Jongin huffed in amusement, looking down at Jongin.

“You like it, don’t you?” he whispered.

“Fuck you, of course I do,” Kyungsoo mumbled back, almost forgetting to keep quiet when Jongin fitted another finger into him. He hissed at the sensation, sliding his leg against Jongin’s side.

“Good,” Jongin simply replied, splaying his fingers as far open as he could inside Kyungsoo. His mouth dropped open in surprise, squirming helplessly before Jongin. “If you like it now, then I’m sure you’ll like it when I’m inside you, fucking you wide open,” Jongin murmured, caressing Kyungsoo’s hair lovingly. The dirty talk was almost too much for Kyungsoo to take and he could feel his cock grow harder, if that was even possible.

He felt impossibly aroused now, tears pooling in his eyes from the way Jongin was working his ass. “I think you’re all nice and stretched now, aren’t you?” Jongin asked nonchalantly.

He pulled his fingers out of Kyungsoo abruptly, and Kyungsoo whined softly. Jongin kissed Kyungsoo chastely on his cheek, patting his thighs. “Do it now, please,” Kyungsoo pleaded. Now, while he still had some of his sanity left.

Jongin hummed in return, picking Kyungsoo’s legs up and hooking them around his waist. He pulled at Kyungsoo a bit with a grunt so he was almost lying down flat on his back and staring up at Jongin. Kyungsoo felt oddly vulnerable and touched Jongin briefly for reassurance. Their eyes met, just as they had been doing all night, and Kyungsoo whispered, “Do it.”

With the angle right, Jongin gripped Kyungsoo’s thighs with his hands and positioned his cock at Kyungsoo’s entrance, pressing gently. Kyungsoo could hardly take the anticipation, breathing ragged as he waited for Jongin to enter him. He waited for one second, two, then he felt Jongin’s cock breaching forth, sliding into him without any hindrance.

Kyungsoo’s head thumped against the headboard as he moaned low in his throat; Jongin’s cock felt hotter and thicker than he anticipated. His fingers had been a warm up of sorts, but this was on an entirely different level of feeling.

He felt full and snug, like Jongin was the missing piece to his incomplete puzzle. When Jongin halted, Kyungsoo cried out softly in protest. “No, no, don’t stop,” he begged. Jongin looked conflicted, legs tense as he held himself over Kyungsoo.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said tersely.

“No, you’re not,” Kyungsoo gasped, trying to shimmy down on his cock. Jongin held onto him tightly. “I can take more, Jongin, just—” He broke off, panting once more as Jongin inched further into Kyungsoo’s ass. When he filled Kyungsoo right to the hilt, Kyungsoo felt a sob claw its way out of his throat. It felt _so_ filthy, so foreign but damn, Kyungsoo loved all of it.

“Are you fine?” Jongin asked, sweat dotting his forehead. He sounded concerned despite everything; Kyungsoo wanted to kiss him and kick him at the same time.

“I am. You can move,” Kyungsoo said, trying to circle his hips. Jongin tutted at him, hitching his legs over his elbows. “I will. Just trying to let you get used to the feeling.”

Kyungsoo made an unimpressed noise in his throat. “I’m not made of glass, you can be a little rough with me,” he mumbled petulantly. Jongin lifted an eyebrow, a smirk gracing his sinful lips and Kyungsoo blushed. He knew he sounded like a tart but he didn’t want to care now.

“Alright then, if you say so,” Jongin replied, pulling out at once. Kyungsoo frowned in confusion and was about to sit up indignantly before Jongin slammed back into him and he jerked from the motion, protests dying down right away. Jongin waited for Kyungsoo to show any signs of pain, and when he didn’t Jongin withdrew and thrust in again, roughly this time.

“Yes,” Kyungsoo breathed, “yes, yes, yes,” he sighed, breath catching his throat as Jongin’s cock brushed up against his prostate.

Jongin grunted and groaned with each thrust, fingers digging cruelly into Kyungsoo’s thighs. Kyungsoo tried his best not cry out every time Jongin hit the right spot, taking to crushing the sheets with his trembling hands. Kyungsoo never thought sex would be like this, the way he could feel everything at once, from the way Jongin’s cock slid into him to the way he could feel Jongin _inside_ him. He writhed restlessly, trying to fuck himself back onto Jongin as he moved.

“Stop that,” Jongin bit out when Kyungsoo squeezed down on him involuntarily. “Please, Jongin, harder,” Kyungsoo mewled, dragging his fingers down Jongin’s flat stomach, ridges appearing whenever he exhaled.

“Christ, you’re insatiable,” Jongin muttered, thrusting in particularly hard and rolling his hips at the same time. “ _Ah!_ ” Kyungsoo bit out, toes curling. Jongin smiled once, adjusting his hold on Kyungsoo and moving two times faster. It was _perfect_ , and Kyungsoo had nothing else to say as Jongin continued to move, little droplets of sweat plopping down on Kyungsoo’s chest.

“I’m close,” Kyungsoo breathed, barely a whisper as he felt an orgasm threatening to push him over the edge. Jongin said nothing, but took Kyungsoo’s cock into one hand and began to pump it, moving in and out of him still.

“No, Jongin, I—” Kyungsoo croaked hoarsely, trying to swat Jongin’s hand away. Jongin ignored him. It took only three more pumps before he came with a choked noise, spurting on Jongin and himself. “Fuck,” Jongin said with feeling, circling his hips and stretching out Kyungsoo’s orgasm. Kyungsoo fitted his fist into his mouth, moaning piteously as Jongin continued to fuck him, hips stuttering as he too, neared his climax.

Teary eyed, Kyungsoo reached out a hand weakly and hiccupped when they made eye contact. “Come inside me, please,” he mumbled, then moved his hips upwards, trying to get Jongin to come.

Jongin shut his eyes tightly, cock throbbing inside Kyungsoo’s ass as he picked up the pace again. Kyungsoo could almost time it, counting down the seconds before he stopped briefly, warmth flooding Kyungsoo’s ass. Jongin’s chest rose and fell rapidly while still inside Kyungsoo, and there was a drop of blood on Jongin’s lower lip when he began to breathe normally again.  

Kyungsoo hooked his ankles together around Jongin’s waist and pulled him down for a kiss, wrapping his arms around Jongin’s neck when he slumped over him heavily. He combed his fingers through Jongin’s hair tiredly, his back damp with sweat.

“Can you stay with me tonight?” Kyungsoo mumbled, swiping the blood away and wiping it carelessly on the sheet. He didn’t want Jongin to leave just yet.

“Hm,” Jongin hummed, blinking up at him. “Do you have any tissue packs here in your room?” Jongin asked. Kyungsoo dug through his dresser clumsily, holding out a new pack to him. Jongin grabbed it and pulled out of Kyungsoo gingerly, smiling widely when Kyungsoo whimpered at the bereft feeling in his ass.

Jongin chucked his chin gently for good measure, then pulled a few tissues out to clean Kyungsoo. He laid back limply, too tired to do much else besides admire Jongin from his point of view. _God, he’s really pretty_ , Kyungsoo thought blearily.

Even when he was doing the most mediocre things, Kyungsoo’s heart clenched tightly in his chest.

 _Fuck, I’m in way too fucking deep_ , Kyungsoo thought with an irritated huff at himself. Jongin flicked the tissues to the ground when he was done, and Kyungsoo held his arms wide open, wrapping Jongin into a hug and rolling together with him when Jongin moved off to one side of the bed.

 “Who knew you could be so cute?” Jongin murmured into Kyungsoo’s hair. It probably smelled gross now that Kyungsoo was all sweaty, but Jongin kept mum, just kissing the top of his head affectionately.

“I’m _not_ cute,” Kyungsoo grouched.

“Yes, you are,” Jongin argued back with a chuckle, hooking his leg over Kyungsoo’s. Kyungsoo just shifted about and grabbed at the covers, throwing them over their shoulders hastily.

“Just in case my mom barges in in the morning,” Kyungsoo muttered. Jongin pulled it up to just below their chins, leaving his toes exposed to the cool air.  

“We haven’t brushed our teeth yet,” Jongin noted, rubbing circles into the small of Kyungsoo’s back. Kyungsoo laughed, hitting Jongin lightly on the arm. “Don’t ruin the moment,” he replied softly, nuzzling Jongin’s chest.

*

When it was starting to get light outside, Kyungsoo was jolted awake by his phone ringing loudly somewhere on the ground.

He clambered out of bed clumsily to answer the phone, not quite understanding why he was in such a hurry but searched for his jeans anyway. It was half hidden under his bed, and when he snatched it up his phone stopped ringing. “Shit, shit, shit,” Kyungsoo muttered, digging into the tiny pockets of the jeans.

Jongin moved on the bed, peering at him curiously with sleepy eyes. Kyungsoo was turned away from the bed and he flopped back into the pillows grumpily at the loss of warmth.

Kyungsoo found his phone and immediately checked the lock screen, expecting it to be some sort of urgent call. Instead, there was a missed call from Baekhyun, the only inconsiderate motherfucker who would call at such an ungodly hour in the morning.

“Piece of shit,” Kyungsoo cursed, climbing back into bed and throwing the covers over himself. Jongin welcomed him back with open arms and laid his head on Kyungsoo’s stomach while he dialed Baekhyun’s number, ready to leave a strongly worded message before he went back to sleep.

He answered after three rings. “Look who got laid last night,” Baekhyun’s voice drawled on the other line.

“I will never understand how my sex life concerns you,” Kyungsoo replied dryly, voice still thick with sleep. “Of course, it concerns me, I left you supplies so in return you should give me details about how Jongin popped your cherry—”

Jongin mumbled, “Is that Baekhyun?”

Kyungsoo hummed a reply. “Who was that?” Baekhyun asked immediately.

“No one.”

Oh, you’re cuddling now, are you?” Baekhyun snickered loudly, “Jongdae, Jongdae, check it out, Kyungsoo’s in bed with Jongin,” he called.

“Okay, bye,” Kyungsoo said hurriedly and hung up, dropping his phone on the mattress beside him. He could hear birds tweeting outside his bedroom window, chirping away as the morning light grew brighter. Kyungsoo settled comfortably back into his pillows, closing his eyes.

It was all quiet for a while, long enough for Kyungsoo to fall back asleep till he heard someone thumping up the stairs. At first, they were soft but as they grew louder Kyungsoo’s eyes shot open and he shook Jongin violently. “Wake up, wake the fuck _up_ , my mom is coming—”

“Kyungsoo?” his mother trilled.

Jongin looked around groggily, still unawares of what was going on and in Kyungsoo’s haste, he pushed Jongin to the ground with a loud thud where Kyungsoo’s mother couldn’t see him if she didn’t walk in.

“Yeah, I’m coming,” Kyungsoo yelled back, grabbing the sheets from Jongin and wrapping them around himself. He just about managed to cover his important bits in time before his mother opened the door, peeking in. Kyungsoo shuffled over, acting as if he was about to leave the room.

“Good morning,” his mother greeted him somewhat suspiciously.

“Mornin’,” Kyungsoo replied, pretending to be extra groggy. His mother stared him for a moment, perhaps assessing him with her gaze.

“Did Jongin get in safely?” she asked.

“Yeah, we both did,” Kyungsoo replied, then gestured behind her, “Can I leave? I wanna brush my teeth,” he said, rubbing his eyes.

“He hasn’t woken up yet, has he?” his mother said, glancing at the door down the hallway, “maybe I should check to see if he’s woken up yet—”

“Nah, I wouldn’t,” Kyungsoo shook his head at once, sounding awfully calm. Inside, his heart was racing as he thought about what his mother might do if she found out that Jongin was just beside the bed, probably still asleep (or maybe knocked out cold from a concussion). For all he knew, this could be the day she disowned him and threw him out on the streets to fend for himself.

“What? Why not?” she looked at him.

“Jongin loves to sleep in. I’ll wake him up after I wash my face and everything,” Kyungsoo replied smoothly.

Mrs. Do looked at him, quirking an eyebrow. He tried to look as innocently sleepy as possible; hopefully he looked cute (as Jongin pointed out earlier that night). After what felt like eternity, she said, “Yes, you know what? Leave him be. I haven’t made breakfast yet.” She walked off just like that, going back down the stairs while humming some trot song.

Kyungsoo stared after her, making sure she was bustling about in the kitchen before he shut the door quietly and tiptoed back to the bed. “Jongin?” he called.

Jongin could’ve been dead this whole time and he wouldn’t have known since there wasn’t enough time to check. He peeped over the edge carefully, and saw Jongin lying on the ground curled up like a dried leaf, eyes closed but a pleasant smile on his face.

“Yes, Kyungsoo?” he chirruped in a sexy, oh-I’m-so-sleepy-but-I-still-look-hot way.

“Thank God you’re alive,” Kyungsoo sighed in relief, offering a hand to pull him up. Jongin tugged him down instead with surprising strength, and he went down with a muffled gurgle.

“Is your mom going to kick me out soon?” Jongin asked, hooking his arms and legs around Kyungsoo once more. Wrapped up in the covers like a fucking California roll, Kyungsoo just lay there and said flatly, “No. But she will if you keep cuddling me and she realizes that we’re not downstairs for Sunday breakfast.”

“Mm,” Jongin hummed, caressing Kyungsoo’s chin lovingly like it was some sort of thing you’d fondle (if you were drunk, that is). Kyungsoo squinted at Jongin, wondering if he was slightly drunk from the beer he barely sipped at last night.

"Are you drunk?" Kyungsoo asked suspiciously.

Jongin lifted his head and looked at him with all the indignant airs of a ten-year-old boy being accused of something he didn't do. "No."

Kyungsoo giggled at his reaction. "Good," he replied. Jongin chuckled softly, hugging Kyungsoo closer. Kyungsoo relished in his warmth, snuggling in. Maybe an extra hour of cuddling with Jongin wouldn't hurt all that much. After all, Kyungsoo's mother usually took forever to prepare her Sunday breakfast. So Kyungsoo settled into his covers, surrounded by everything he ever needed; blankets and Jongin.

 

 

 


End file.
